Labor unions in Japan
This article needs to be updated. The reason given is: this article is largely missing information about this topic from 1991 onward.(September 2023) |
National organization(s) | Japanese Trade Union Confederation (Rengo) National Confederation of Trade Unions (Zenroren) |
---|---|
Regulatory authority | Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare |
Primary legislation | Labour Union Law (Act. No. 51, Dec 1945) Labour Relations Adjustment Law (1946) Labour Standards Law (1947) Labour Union Law (Act. No. 174, June 1949) Labour Contract Law (2007)[1] |
Total union membership | 10,238,187[2] |
Percentage of workforce unionized | 18.5% (2010)[3] |
International Labour Organization | |
Japan is a member of the ILO | |
Convention ratification | |
Freedom of Association | 14 June 1965 |
Right to Organise | 20 October 1953 |
In the immediate aftermath of the Second World War, the U.S. Occupation authorities initially encouraged the formation of independent unions, but reversed course as part of broader anti-Communist measures.[7][5] The legislation was passed that enshrined the right to organize,[8] and membership rapidly rose to 5 million by February 1947.[5] The organization rate peaked at 55.8% in 1949[9] and subsequently declined to 18.5% as of 2010.[3]
The labour movement went through a process of reorganization from 1987 to 1991[10] from which emerged the present configuration of three major labour union federations, along with other smaller national union organizations.
National labor union federations
In 2005, 43,096
- Rengo: Japanese Trade Union Confederation (日本労働組合総連合会 Nihon Rōdōkumiai Sōrengō-kai) 33,940 unions, 6,507,222 members[2][11]
- Zenroren: National Confederation of Trade Unions (全国労働組合総連合 Zenkoku Rōdōkumiai Sōrengō) 7,531 unions, 730,102 members[2][12]
- Zenrokyo: National Trade Union Council (全国労働組合連絡協議会 Zenkoku Rōdōkumiai Renraku Kyōgi-kai) 1,625 unions, 158,342 members[2][13]
A further 19,139 unions, with a combined membership of 2,842,521 workers, were affiliated to other national labour organizations.[2] The labour union organizations included (with membership figures for 2001/2002)[14] the National Federation of Construction Workers' Unions (717,908) Federation of City Bank Employees' Unions (105,950), Zendenko Roren (53,853), National Federation of Agricultural Mutual Aid Societies Employees' Unions (45,830), All Japan Council of Optical Industry Workers' Union (44,776), National Teachers Federation of Japan (42,000), Faculty and Staff Union of Japanese Universities (38,500), and All Aluminium Industrial Workers Union (36,000).
History
Meiji period to 1945
In the first half of the
In February 1898, engineers and stokers at the Japan Railway Company successfully struck for improvement of status and higher wages. In the same year, ships' carpenters in Tokyo and Yokohama formed a union, and a dispute followed with demands for higher wages.[4]
1907 saw the greatest number of disputes in a decade, with large-scale riots at Japan's two leading copper mines,
One labour organization that did survive was the Friendly Society (
After the
Hampered by their weak legal status, the absence of a right to
In 1940, the government dissolved the existing unions and absorbed them into the Industrial Association for Serving the Nation (Sangyo Hokokukai or Sampō),[20] the government-sponsored workers' organization, as part of a national reorganization of all civil organizations under central government direction[5] and as a means of controlling radical elements in the workforce. Nonetheless, employees could still bargain and gain welfare benefits on a local level.[18] Sampō remained in existence at the end of the war.
1945 to the present
After the
While the law was created while Japan was under occupation, the law itself was largely a Japanese work. It was put together by a large legal advisory commission headed by the legal scholar Suehiro Izutaro. The commission was quite large, consisting of "three Welfare ministry bureaucrats and two scholars, a steering committee of 30 members (including the communist firebrand Kyuichi Tokuda), and an overall membership of more than 130 members representing universities, corporations, political parties, the bureaucracy, social workers, and labor."[22]
In addition to the Trade Union Act of 1945, the postwar constitution of Japan, which became law on 3 May 1947 includes article 28, which guarantees the right of workers to participate in a trade union.
On 1 June 1949, a new version of the Trade Union Law was enacted. It has since been amended in 1950, 1951, 1952, 1954, 1959, 1962, 1966, 1971, 1978, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1988, 1993, 1999, 2002, 2004, and 2005.[23]
By 1960, Japan's labor unions were at the height of their power, and served as the backbone of the massive
Until the mid-1980s, Japan's 74,500 trade unions were represented by four main labor federations: the General Council of Trade Unions of Japan (日本労働組合総評議会 nihon rōdō kumiai sōhyōgikai, commonly known as Sōhyō), with 4.4 million members—a substantial percentage representing public sector employees; the Japan Confederation of Labour (zen nihon rodo sodomei, commonly known as Dōmei), with 2.2 million members; the Association of Neutral Labour Unions (ja:中立労連 Chūritsu Rōren), with 1.6 million members; and the National Federation of Industrial Organizations (ja:新産別 Shinsanbetsu), with only 61,000 members.
In 1987 Dōmei and Chūritsu Rōren were dissolved and amalgamated into the newly established Japanese Trade Union Confederation (連合 RENGO), and in 1990 Sōhyō affiliates merged with Rengo.
Membership
The rate of labor union membership declined considerably after its postwar high to 18.5% as of 2010.
Any regular employee below the rank of section chief is eligible to become a
The relationship between the typical labor union and the company is unusually close. Both white- and blue-collar workers join the union automatically in most major companies. Temporary and subcontracting workers are excluded, and managers with the rank of section manager and above are considered part of management. In most corporations, however, many of the managerial staff are former union members. In general, Japanese unions are sensitive to the economic health of the company, and company management usually briefs the union membership on the state of corporate affairs.
Negotiations and actions
Local labor unions and work unit unions, rather than the federations, conducted the major collective bargaining. Unit unions often banded together for wage negotiations, but federations did not control their policies or actions. Federations also engaged in political and public relations activities.
During prosperous times, the spring labor offensives are highly ritualized affairs, with banners, sloganeering, and dances aimed more at being a show of force than a crippling job action. Meanwhile, serious discussions take place between the union officers and corporate managers to determine pay and benefit adjustments.
During downturns, or when management tries to reduce the number of permanent employees, strikes often occur. The number of working days lost to labor disputes peaked in the economic turmoil of 1974 and 1975 at around 9 million workdays in the two-year period. In 1979, however, there were fewer than 1 million days lost. Since 1981 the average number of days lost per worker each year to disputes was just over 9% of the number lost in the United States.
After 1975, when the economy entered a period of slower growth, annual wage increases moderated and labor relations were conciliatory. During the 1980s, workers received pay hikes that on average closely reflected the real growth of GNP for the preceding year. In 1989, for example, workers received an average 5.1% pay hike, while GNP growth had averaged 5% between 1987 and 1989. The moderate trend continued in the early 1990s as the country's national labor federations were reorganizing themselves.
Unions
Extant
- National Trade Union Council (Zenrokyo)
- Japanese Trade Union Confederation (Rengo)
- National Confederation of Trade Unions (Zenroren)
- National Union of General Workers
- General Union
- Kyabakura Union
- Japan Teachers Union (Nikkyoso)
- University Teachers Union
- Zenkoku Ippan Tokyo General Union (Tozen)
Formerly extant
See also
Workplace
- Japanese employment law
- Japanese work environment
- Black company (Japanese term)
Workers
- Japanese blue collar workers
- Salaryman, Japanese white collar worker
- Office lady
Labor actions
References
Citations
- ^ Japan Institute for Labour Policy and Training. Labor Laws of Japan. Archived 2011-05-25 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 11 June 2011
- ^ a b c d e f Statistics Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. Labour Unions and Membership (1945-2005). Retrieved 10 June 2011
- ^ a b c Japan Institute for Labor Policy and Training website Trends in number of labor unions, members, and participation rate[permanent dead link] Retrieved on June 12, 2012
- ^ a b c d e f Nimura, K. The Formation of Japanese Labor Movement: 1868-1914 (Translated by Terry Boardman). Retrieved 11 June 2011
- ^ a b c d e Cross Currents. Labor unions in Japan. CULCON. Retrieved 11 June 2011
- ^ a b c Weathers, C. (2009). Business and Labor. In William M. Tsutsui, ed., A Companion to Japanese History (2009) pp. 493-510.
- ISSN 1010-1608.
- ^ Jung, L. (30 March 2011). National Labour Law Profile: Japan. ILO. Retrieved 10 June 2011
- ^ Japan Institute for Labour Policy and Training website Labor Situation in Japan and Analysis: 2009/2010 Archived 2011-09-27 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 10 June 2011
- ^ Dolan, R. E. & Worden, R. L. (Eds.). Japan: A Country Study. Labor Unions, Employment and Labor Relations. Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress, 1994. Retrieved 12 June 2011
- ^ Japanese Trade Union Confederation (Rengo), Affiliated unions. Retrieved 10 June 2011
- ^ Japan Institute for Labour Policy, Survey 2001-2002. Affiliated unions, National Confederation of Trade Unions (Zenroren). Archived 2012-03-14 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 10 June 2011
- ^ National Trade Union Council (Zenrokyo) Affiliated unions. Retrieved 8 June 2011
- ^ Japan Institute for Labour Policy, Survey 2001-2002, Directory of Labor Administration, Major Trade Unions, and Employee's Associations in Japan. Archived 2011-09-27 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 10 June 2011
- ^ Nimura, K. (1997). The Ashio Riot of 1907: A Social History of Mining in Japan. Archived 2009-12-04 at the Wayback Machine American Historical Review, 104:3. June 1999. Retrieved 16 June 2011
- ^ Baker, D. The Trade Union Movement in Japan. International Socialism, 23, Winter 1965/66, pp.19-26. Retrieved 19 June 2011
- ^ Kimura, Shinichi, Unfair Labor Practices under the Trade Union Law of Japan Archived 2011-07-18 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b Benson, J. (3 Nov 2008). The Development and Structure of Japanese Enterprise Unions. The Asia-Pacific Journal. Retrieved 15 June 2011
- ^ Weinstein, D. (1994). United we stand: firms and enterprise unions in Japan. Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, 8, 53-71.
- ^ Sampō is variously referred to in English as the Industrial Association for Serving the Nation, Movement in Service for the Country, League for Service to the State, and Industrial Patriotic Society.
- ^ Dower 1999, p. 82.
- ^ Dower 1999, p. 245.
- ^ Japan Institute for Labor Policy and Training Trade Union Law Archived 2011-06-12 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Kapur 2018, p. 2.
- ^ Kapur 2018, pp. 135–137.
Works cited
- ISBN 0-393-04686-9
- Kapur, Nick (2018). Japan at the Crossroads: Conflict and Compromise after Anpo. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0674984424.