[talk] How do the Top Labor Union Officials see the Koizumi and Takenaka Reforms?

Nobuaki Koga: President of Denki Rengo: Japanese Electrical Electronic & Information Union.

After graduating from a Faculty of Engineering of Miyazaki University, he joined Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. He is also a director of Rengo: Japanese Trade Union Confederation, a member Central Labor Relations Commission, Research Institute for Advancement of Living Standards.

Katsutoshi Suzuki: Currently Chairperson Japan Council of Metalworkers

Currently, Chairperson - Japan Council of Metalworkers Unions. Born in 1942 he entered Toshiba in 1957, became the General Secretary of the Toshiba labor union in 1982. President of the Japanese Electrical Electronics & Information Union since 1996.

Tsuyoshi Takagi: President of UI Zensen: the Japanese Federation of Textile, Chemical, Food, Commercial, Service and General Worker's Unions

After graduating from a faculty of Law of the University of Tokyo, he joined Asahi Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.(now, Asahi Kasei Corporation). He was a Deputy Director, Labor Policy Bureau of Zensen in 1980. He became an official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan in 1981 and worked in the Japanese embassy in Thailand. After retiring from the ministry, he became President of Zensen in 1996 and assumed present position in 2002. He wrote a book named "Tai Mitamama Kanjitamama(Thailand, watching and feeling)".

The structural reforms being undertaken by Mr. Takenaka, the Minister of Financial Services, Economic and Fiscal Policy. The progress towards final disposition of non-performing loans will almost undoubtedly bring on an increase in unemployment and job insecurity. How should corporate employees view such a situation? We asked this question of Mr. Katsutoshi Suzuki, chairman of the All Japan Metals Industry Labor Union Council, Mr. Tsuyoshi Takagi, chairman of the Zensen Domei and Mr. Nobuaki Koba, chairman of the All Japan Electric, Electronic and Information Related Industries Labor Union Conference.

All three gentlemen agreed that the government should not postpone structural reform such as the final disposal of non-performing loans and that anti-deflation policies should be conducted simultaneously.

On the one hand, these three had common recognition of the fact that the role of labor unions stood at a historical turning point. Mr. Suzuki in particular stressed that “labor unions should not be an organization for the protection of vested rights of present employees”. Considering the fact that the group of employees such as part timers who were not members of unions represents the majority in workplaces, “if the job was the same, it is necessary to apply equal treatment regardless of whether the workers were union members or not”.

Mr. Takagi took up the example the participation of labor unions in a committee to review corporate governance when unapproved food additives were used in a fast food restaurants chain. He suggested that there was a possibility of participation by employees in corporate management through the unions”. Furthermore, he stated that when Mycal management broke down, the labor unions played an important role in calming down the employees.

Mr. Koga described the role that unions should play as “policy formation capabilities and career design” which is different from the past role of demanding wage increases.

In the future, it will be necessary to prepare a framework whereby unemployed workers can find a job across industries once they go through an appropriate period to learn new industrial skills. In such a situation, the role and organization of labor unions must change as well so that such workers can find a job not only outside an enterprise, but also across industries.