Activities Against Negative Labor Law Changes
(11 April 2003)
The government is trying to revise the Labor
Standards Law and the Worker Dispatch Law in the current Diet session.
It plans to ‘deregulate’ legislation leading to the expansion
of unstable employment and long-hour labor. Responding to this movement,
RENGO endorsed its “activities against changes that negatively impact
the Labor Standards and Worker Dispatch Laws” at the 21st Central
Executive Committee Meeting on April 10. RENGO will set aside the month
of May as “United Action Month Against Changes that Negatively Impact
Labor Legislation,” seek radical revision of government bills to
pursue job security and more worker protection. In order to do so, RENGO
affiliated organizations and local RENGO will develop united movements
both in and outside the Diet including the adoption of resolutions at
workplaces and holding actions in front of the Diet buildings.
With employment conditions showing no signs of recovery, the government
is seeking to revise the Labor Standards Law and the Workers Dispatch
Law in the current Diet session.
However, this includes extending fixed-periods of labor, legislating rules
for dismissal, expanding those workplaces where discretionary work systems
are admitted and relaxing procedures, extending dispatch periods, and
legalizing the dispatchment of workers to manufacturing premises. These
will hasten deregulation which may promote unstable employment and long
work hours, now already on the rise. We especially found the rules of
dismissal dangerous in that they bring freedom to dismiss to the fore
and may change current conditions in which management bares the burden
of proof in lawsuits.
In order to dispel these concerns and fortify job security and worker
protection we need to radically revise the bills and RENGO pledges to
promote its movements with all of its strength. To this end, RENGO will
pursue the following actions based on its proposed “Spring Struggle
4th Urgent Principle.”
Basic Concepts for Activities
- Following February’s National United Actions for the 2003 Spring
Struggle, which primarily stressed employment, RENGO will set aside
May as United Action Month Against Changes that Negatively Impact Labor
Legislation as the second phase of united actions. Industrial federations
and local RENGO will deploy actions in and outside the Diet in an integrated
manner and consolidate their actions at the 5.29 Central Rally.
- To do so, each industrial federation will adopt resolutions at workplaces
to send them to the ruling and opposition parties. Local RENGO will
conduct on-the-street PR activities as well as demand activities to
locally elected Diet members. They will also set the issue of demonstrating
against changing labor legislation for worse as the principal pillar
of May Day.
- In addition to industrial federations performing actions before the
Diet building during the peak Diet session period in the latter half
of May, RENGO will establish a concentrated activity zone.
- RENGO headquarters will lobby the Diet, raise public awareness through
TV advertising spots etc., and prepare materials and equipment for use
at its activities.
- RENGO will separately propose future responses for emergencies and actions after June.
| RENGO | Affiliates | Local RENGO | |||
| Later half of April | 4.17 Rally Demands to Diet members |
Rallies at workplaces Resolutions at workplaces |
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| May: United Action Month |
May Day |
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May Day Hold rallies |
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| Later half: Concentrated Activity Zone |
Lobbying at Diet TV spots |
Join activities before Diet
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PR on the street | ||
| 5.29 Rally/Petition to Diet | |||||
RENGO Headquarters and Affiliated Organizations Activities
| (1) | 4.17 Rally Against Changes That Negatively Impact the Labor Standards/Workers Dispatch Laws | ||||||||||
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| (2) | Demands to political parties and lawmakers. (from early April) Conduct demand RENGO headquarter-led activities on political parties and lawmakers. |
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| (3) | Hold rallies at workplaces and adopt resolutions. (from early April) *Send resolutions adopted at workplaces directly to ruling and opposition parties headquarters via affiliated organizations. Send copies to RENGO. (see separate sheet) *Unit unions capable of proceeding will conduct rallies at any time. Finish by late May at the latest. |
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| (4) | May Day Establish ‘activities against changes that negatively impact the Labor Standards and Workers Dispatch Laws’ as the key issue at May Day. |
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| (5) | Conduct Diet session observations and rallies at the Diet Visitors
Area Establish a “concentrated activity zone” in line with the peak of Diet deliberations in late May and develop the following activities: |
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| (6) | 5.29 Rally Against Changes Negatively Impacting Labor Legislation Hold a rally that will wrap up the various preceding activities and conduct a petition demonstration march on the Diet. |
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Local RENGO Activities
| (1) | Hold rallies and demand activities on lawmakers (beginning in early
May) Local RENGO will conduct demand activities on locally elected Diet members during the weekends. Resolutions at workplaces will be used as demand statements |
| (2) | May Day Establish ‘activities against changes that negatively impact the Labor Standards and Workers Dispatch Laws’ as the key issue at May Day. |
| (3) | Establish a Concentrated Activity Zone Hold rallies and on-the-street campaigns in line with the concentrated activity zone period in late May. Materials, which will be sent to each local council in April include pocketsize tissue packs with advertising messages, banners for on-the-street campaigns, and prerecorded audio tapes. Report necessary quantities to each local RENGO. |
RENGO will prepare the following materials for the preceding activities:
| (1) | On-the-street campaign materials (from May) Pocketsize tissue packs for distribution to passersby, banners, pre-recorded audio tapes, etc. |
| (2) | Workplace study group materials, materials for demand activities
to lawmakers Leaflets (for demand activities to lawmakers, for adopting workplace resolutions), explanatory materials (at RENGO headquarters). |
| (3) | Utilization of mass media *Radio Spots (broadcast from May) *TV Spots: broadcast during the concentrated activity zone Advertising spots (30 seconds): for one week for six nationwide regions on TBS affiliates (Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka, Hokkaido, and Hiroshima). Approximately five spots during primetime and about 30 spots broadcast in other time slots at each broadcasting station. |
