Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2009, published 99th ILC session (2010)

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

The Committee notes the comments of the Japanese Trade Union Confederation (JTUC–RENGO) dated 22 October 2008 and 5 October 2009 and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) dated 26 August 2009, on the application of the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to provide its observations on the most recent comments made by the JTUC–RENGO and the ITUC.

Article 1 of the Convention. The Committee had previously noted the long-standing dispute and court proceedings arising out of the privatization of the Japanese National Railways (JNR) which were taken over by the Japan Railway Companies (JR); they concern in particular, the decision of the JR not to rehire workers belonging to certain organizations which opposed the privatization plan. The Committee additionally noted that the last major pending issue concerned outstanding claims for the reinstatement of the 1,047 Kokuro workers. The Committee notes that the Government indicates in its report that this issue is still being dealt with in the framework of the relevant recommendations of the Committee on Freedom of Association and that the Government will continue to inform the Committee of any progress made in this regard. The Committee requests the Government to communicate any determination of the abovementioned issue in its next report and, in particular, the results of any appeals from the remaining workers or any other developments.

Article 4. Collective bargaining rights of public service employees not engaged in the administration of the State in the context of the civil service reform. Several of the Committee’s previous comments concerned the need for measures to ensure the promotion of collective bargaining for public employees who are not engaged in the administration of the State in the framework of ongoing consultations on the reform of the civil service. The Committee notes that the JTUC–RENGO states that the Headquarters for Promoting Civil Service Reform was established pursuant to the Basic Law on Reform of National Public Officers’ Systems (Civil Service Reform Law) and, in order to develop an autonomous labour management relation system for public employees, the Labour Employer Relations System Examining Committee was set up and began its examination process. A working group was established in the committee and began discussions in April 2009 in order to work out a system for granting the right to conclude collective agreements, but it is still unclear whether that group’s conclusions will be in line with the ILO recommendations. 

The Committee notes that the Government indicates that in some local governments, there are cases where there is no choice but to implement the revision of salaries in accordance with the recommendations of Personnel Commissions in view of the current social and economic circumstances, critical fiscal conditions and progress of administrative and fiscal reform. In addition, the Government indicates that the Supreme Court has ruled that, even if a revision of remuneration has not been made in accordance with the Personnel Commission, it should not be immediately interpreted as the Personnel Commission not playing its proper compensatory functions if it is due to the really unavoidable reasons of the Prefecture’s fiscal conditions. The Committee also notes that the Government held a number of meetings with JTUC–RENGO and RENGO–PSLC at various levels formally and informally between November 2008 and March 2009. 

Additionally, in 2008 the Government held a total of 35 official meetings with employees’ organizations concerning issues including remunerations. Four of these meetings were with the Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications and based on the resulting findings, the Amendment Bill of the Law Concerning the Remuneration of Regular Service Employees was submitted to the Diet to revise the remunerations exactly as recommended by the National Personnel Authority.

Taking note of this information, the Committee once again recalls from previous comments that the capacity of public employees who are not engaged in the administration of the State to participate in the determination of wages remains substantially limited and once again requests the Government to examine measures in the context of the current dialogue over the civil service reform, aimed at giving a primary role to collective bargaining so that workers and their organizations may be able to participate fully and meaningfully in designing the overall bargaining framework. The Committee firmly hopes that the Government will be in a position to report on concrete progress made in this respect in its next report.