Observation (CEACR) - adopted 1994, published 81st ILC session (1994)

Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98) - Japan (Ratification: 1953)

The Committee notes the information supplied by the Government in its reports as well as the comments by the Japanese Trade Union Confederation (JTUC-RENGO) in a communication dated 8 December 1993.

The Committee notes that the comments presented by RENGO refer to the situation of public employees (in the employment of the State, local bodies or state enterprises). These matters have been brought to the attention of the Committee on previous occasions. In its detailed report, the Government stresses that the comments communicated by RENGO do not mean that specific new problems have occurred. The Committee notes that the Government maintains its specific stance and cites, with reference to the points raised by RENGO, relevant comments already forwarded to the ILO in the past.

The comments submitted by RENGO essentially relate to the following matters, all of which have been subject to comments by the Committee on previous occasions:

1. Anti-union discrimination

Right to organize for various public servants (police, Maritime Safety Agency, prison, firefighters and others)

The Government observes that this question is dealt with by Convention No. 87. It recalls that the Maritime Safety Agency is in charge of police on the sea, that the functions of the employees of penal institutions are assimilated to those of the police. As for the firefighting personnel (whose situation the Committee examined under Convention No. 87), the Government states that it intends to continue its efforts to find a solution.

The Committee refers to its previous observations under Convention No. 87.

Registration of public employees' organizations and other limitations

The Government recalls that the system of registration does not intend to discriminate against employee organizations in their negotiating capacity. The system of registration purports to authenticate employee organizations with a view to establishing rational labour-management relations between the authorities concerned and independent and democratic organizations. The Government's understanding is that where a non-registered employees' organization requests management to negotiate with it, management should endeavour not to reject the request arbitrarily. The Committee had previously noted from the Government's indication that there had been no case in practice where an authority had arbitrarily refused to negotiate with an organization for the sole reason that it was not registered.

As for the limitations of terms of office for full-time trade union officers while retaining their status of public employees, the Committee notes the information of the Government in its report of changes introduced in the past. The Committee considers that this question does not fall under Article 1 of the Convention.

Prohibition of strikes for state employees

The Committee, while noting the comments by RENGO and the indications in the Government's report, refers to its previous observations under Convention No. 87.

2. Promotion of collective bargaining

Negotiation rights of public employees

According to RENGO, the State Employees Law and the Local Public Employees Law stipulate that negotiation between the authority and trade unions does not include the right to conclude collective agreements. The Local Public Employees Law allows for written agreements, provided they do not violate municipal laws, regulations and rules. RENGO and the Liaison Committee of Public Employees Unions (KOUMUIN-RENNRAKU-KAI) continue to demand the participation of trade unions in the decision-making concerning wages and working conditions. Although meetings often take place between the Government and trade unions on the application of recommendations made by the Personnel Agency, they have never affected government decisions.

For RENGO, the view of trade unions is not sufficiently reflected in the elaboration of the recommendations by the Personnel Agency. It considers that there should be legal provisions for previous consultations on important policy decisions.

The recommendations of the Personnel Agency, according to RENGO, were fully applied in recent years, but the Government does not take its decision on the recommendations until several months later, so that the application is delayed by up to nine months in comparison with the wage increase in the private sector.

The Committee notes the Government's repeated statement that the National Personnel Authority and the Personnel Commission, whose mission is to make recommendations as necessary to adapt the working conditions of society, make incessant efforts to determine the trends of working conditions in the private sector and to obtain freely expressed opinions from employees' organizations and make recommendations taking those factors into account. Meetings between the Government and employees' organizations are frequently held concerning wages and other working conditions, and the National Personnel Authority frequently hears the opinion of employees' organizations before it makes recommendations concerning wages and other matters.

With regard to public servants, the Committee wishes to point out that Article 6 establishes that the Convention does not deal with the position of public servants engaged in the administration of the State; the persons who are employed by the State or in the public sector but who do not act as agents of the public authority, however, come under the scope of the Convention.

Noting the information supplied by the Government, the Committee recalls that it had previously observed that the capacity of public employees (i.e. those who are not engaged in the administration of the State) to participate in the process of the determination of their wages is substantially limited. It would therefore ask the Government to indicate what measures could be envisaged to encourage and promote the full development and utilization of machinery for voluntary negotiation.

Exclusion of certain matters from negotiation in state enterprises

According to RENGO, the State Enterprise Labour Relations Law excludes matters of administration and management from negotiation. The meaning of these matters is not clearly defined, and negotiation is actually limited or refused because of arbitrary interpretation. Under the same law, additional wage payment should be accepted by the parliament.

In its report, the Government states again its basic view that under the Public Corporation and National Enterprise Labour Relations Law, all matters relating to working conditions may be subject to collective bargaining. The Government refers to the recommendation of the Advisory Council on the Public Service Personnel System to the effect that conditions of work which are affected by decisions relating to management and operations should be matters for labour-managment negotiations. Management actually holds prior consultations with labour in the public corporations and national enterprises even on matters pertaining to management and operations. Diet approval for additional expenditure of funds of national enterprises is not designed to prohibit the parties concerned from conducting collective agreements but to leave the validity of budgetary appropriation for wages to the approval of the Diet.

The Committee would ask the Government to give in its next report precise information as to matters pertaining to managenent and operations, within the meaning of the Public Corporations and National Enterprises Labour Relations Law, which are clearly excluded from negotiation or consultation.