Photo: Members appealed "We want politics for the working people."

On July 21 the day the supplementary budget for the fiscal year 1999 was approved, RENGO conducted an emergency street campaign at Shinjuku station, Tokyo, which gathered an audience of 1000 people. At this street rally, RENGO appealed its resolution to step up activities to demand drastic revision of the Industrial Revitalization Bill, which had been approved by the Cabinet that same day, and oppose Pension System Revision. RENGO also clarified that it will continue to seek the early compilation for the total ¥14 trillion of the 2nd supplementary budget for job creation and economic recovery.

The Labor Ministry's Central Labor Employment Safety Council plans to discuss revamping the overall Employment Insurance System to adjust the idea, and subsequently aims to pass an amendment bill in the 146th Ordinary Diet Session effective from the year 2001.
At the 26th Central Executive Committee Meeting held on July 15, RENGO endorsed its "Basic Principle on the Rectification of the Employment Insurance System and Ensuring its Stable Management." In it RENGO expressed the following basic ideas on the Employment Insurance System: (1) Continue securely maintain it in the future. (2) Clarify its place in the 9th Employment Measures Basic Plan (3) Improve and enrich the system so that it corresponds to the drastic changes of its surroundings. In the principle, RENGO also appeals to revamp the system and to guarantee its stable management.

RENGO's Demand Plan for Rectification of the Employment Insurance System and Ensuring its Stable Management

1.	Drastic Fortification of Support Measures for Placement of the Unemployed and Skill Development Program

(1)	Fortification of Support Measures for placement to the Unemployed People
	1.	Relax application standards for the nationwide extension of the employment insurance provision (article 27) and extend the provision period to 90 days.
	2.	Extend the vocational training provision period (generally 90 days) to 12 months.
	3.	Allow "pecuniary aid for promoting employment" in the employment measures law for 150 days equally to all qualified participants in the Employment Insurance provision.

(2)	Drastic Fortification of Skill Development Program
	1.	Drastically fortify skill development programs for white-collared workers including enforcement of "ability garden method" training nationwide.
	2.	Establish vocational programs for unemployed college graduates.
	3.	Enforce support measures for programs conducted by labor/management organizations for the jobs in new technologies.

2.	Maintenance and Expansion of the Employment Adjustment Grant System and Improvement of Requirements for the Joining and Payment of Employment Insurance

(1)	Maintenance and Expansion of the Employment Adjustment Grant System
	1.	From the point of transformation of industrial structure, the Employment Adjustment Grant is one of the most promising of recent support measures. It directly effects employment stability and security while functioning to maintain business activities and support the transformation of businesses. Seen in this light, RENGO seeks to maintain a system that helps to stabilize the employment system and demands new expansion in order to let the tertiary industry also become eligible for the Employment Adjustment Grant through the revision of application standards.
	2.	Streamline and relax the formal requirements on the premise that the current eligible applicants in the Employment Adjustment Grant are maintained. At the same time, improve the system by increasing support and guidance to enable applications in regional industries and industrial park groups so that small to mid-sized businesses can easily conduct educational training.
	3.	Maintain the current grant rate. Regarding special measures such as increasing grant rates, the current rate will be sustained until the employment situation improves.

(2)	Improvement of Requirements for the Joining and Payment of Employment Insurance (premium rate, government liability) and Improvement of Benefits. Complete items 1-3 in order to revise the insurance rate. Study revising the rate only if after sufficient effort has been made.
	1.	Create flexible Employment Insurance rates and increase the government liability rate.
		•	Based on article 12, item 4 in the levy law, revision of the current rate of 8.0/1000 will be made flexible. If it should become necessary to introduce measures, which exceed the former rate of 11.0/1000, a deliberate response is essential, and a plan to change the liability of the government to one forth.
	2.	Requirements etc. in Joining Employment Insurance
		•	Requirements for the joining the Employment Insurance and its benefit conditions, must consider the increase of short-term employment contractors as per revisions in the Dispatched Labor Law. Relax application standards such as a) over 6 months and within 12 months of latest insured period b) more than 20 hours work per week c) more than ¥ 900,000 of income, and help short-shift workers and registered dispatch workers to join insurance.
		•	Clarify measures and penalties to dispose of all applicable irregular uninsured businesses so that they may secure revenue sources.
	3.	Secure and expand revenue sources for employment measures
		•	Secure revenue sources from the general account etc., and make it possible to stabilize living standards and skill training while seeking jobs in order to set up adequate job-hunting activities and conditions for uninsured people including unemployed new graduates and ex-self-employed workers.

3.	Improvement in Relaxing Requirements Regarding Tertiary Businesses

(1)	Study New Adaptation for Tertiary Business
		Discuss the position of the tertiary businesses based on the present conditions of changing employment and the labor environment. Examine the expansion of benefits and new measures that would link up with the stabilization and maintenance of employment, such as consolidation of the current grant system.
(2)	Introduction of Government Subsidies
		Create government subsidies necessary for the Employment Adjustment Grant's provision until the employment climate improves.

4.	RENGO's Principle of Demand Plans for the Revision of the Employment Insurance System

The joint meeting held on July 5 by the labor committee and officials in charge was a starting point of arguments. RENGO, along with each constituent organization, will pursue organizational discussions, and summarize these arguments by the end of July. RENGO will propose a plan at the Central Executive Committee Meeting on July 15, demand organizational discussion, conclude its ideas at the end of July and endorse and finalize RENGO's principles and demands at the Central Executive Committee Meeting planned to be held on August 19. RENGO will prepare materials for organizational discussion and summary.