Observation (CEACR) - adopted 1993, published 80th ILC session (1993)

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - Japan (Ratification: 1965)

The Committee takes note of the information supplied by the Government in its report.

1. Denial of the right to organize of fire-fighting personnel. The Government indicates that in order to respond to the demand made by the trade union representatives concerned, the Government, in agreement with the Inter-Ministerial Conference on Public Employees' Problems, decided in 1990 that meetings would take place periodically between the Ministry of Home Affairs and the All-Japan Prefectural Municipal Workers' Union (JICHIRO), in order to find a solution to the issue of the right to organize of fire-fighting personnel.

The Government states that consultations between the Ministry of Home Affairs and JICHIRO have been held ten times since the first session was held in November 1990, namely, one session in 1990, six sessions in 1991 and three sessions in 1992. Although such consultations have enabled both sides to gain a better understanding of the standpoint of the other side, the Government feels that, given the lengthy history and the numerous persons involved in the issue of the right to organize of fire-fighting personnel, the consultations have not yet reached a stage which would allow the Government to submit a report on the solution to this problem. However, both the Ministry of Home Affairs and JICHIRO have agreed to continue consultations in order to find a solution.

The Committee trusts that these future consultations will take account of the comments that it has been making for several years, namely that the functions exercised by fire-fighters are not of such a nature as to warrant their exclusion from the right to organize under Article 9 of the Convention and that it would not be in conformity with the Convention to deny the right to organize to any category of worker other than the armed forces and the police. However, the right to organize does not necessarily imply the right to strike and the fire-fighting services must be considered to be an essential service in the strict sense of the term in which the right to strike may be prohibited.

The Committee requests the Government to supply information in its next report on further developments in the situation, and in particular on measures that have been taken following the consultations to resolve the issue.

2. Prohibition of the right to strike of public servants. The Committee regrets to note that the Government has not provided any information on the examination of its legislation which prohibits the right to strike of public servants. The Committee recalls that the prohibition on strikes should be confined to public servants acting in their capacity as agents of the public authority or to essential services in the strict sense of the term, that is those whose interruption would endanger the life, personal safety or health of the whole or part of the population. As regards penal sanctions, the Committee points out once again that they should only be imposed where there are violations of strike prohibitions which are in conformity with the principles of freedom of association and that they should be proportional to the offences committed; penalties of imprisonment should not be imposed in the case of peaceful strikes. The Committee requests the Government to supply information in its next report on the measures taken following the examination of this matter by the Government.