Individual Case (CAS) - Discussion: 1995, Publication: 82nd ILC session (1995)

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

The Government supplied the following information:

With regard to the issue of the right to organize of fire defence personnel, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Fire Defence Agency and the All-Japan Prefectural Municipal Workers' Union (JICHIRO) have held consultations strenuously in order to find an appropriate solution to this issue since the submission by the Government of Japan of its report in December 1994. The consultations continued even in the extremely difficult circumstances caused by the recent Kobe earthquake, a natural disaster of unprecedented devastation, in respect of which the Japanese fire defence system was required to mobilize all its resources in order to cope. As a result of the consultative efforts, an agreement was reached recently that was the solution accepted by consensus of the Japanese people. This solution was the introduction of a new system to guarantee the participation of fire defence personnel in the process to determine their working conditions and improvement of such conditions.

The specific content of this new system is as follows: (1) a fire defence personnel committee (provisional name) will be established in each fire defence headquarters throughout the nation; (2) the committee will discuss opinions to be presented by fire defence personnel on improvement of working conditions or other subjects, and the committee will present its observations to the fire chief; (3) the committee will be formed by fire defence personnel, half of whom will be appointed on the basis of recommendations of members of the respective unit; (4) the fire chief will respect the intention of the committee's observations and strive to improve working conditions or other matters regarding fire defence personnel.

The Government will prepare legislative amendments to institute this new system. In this new system, the process to improve working conditions or other matters regarding fire defence personnel will be conducted with their participation at the respective fire defence headquarters where they are assigned, and problems concerning working conditions or other matters regarding specific individuals will also be handled. This new system will therefore guarantee the participation of fire defence personnel in the process to decide their working conditions, and is consistent with the spirit of protection of their rights.

This solution is based on the agreement that was reached through in-depth discussions among all parties concerned throughout the nation, and both the Government and workers greatly appreciate its significance.

In addition, a Government representative of Japan stated that with regard to the issue of the right to organize of fire-fighting personnel, consultations had been held since 1990 between the Ministry of Home Affairs and the All-Japan Prefectural Municipal Workers' Union (JICHIRO). These consultations continued even in the wake of the Kobe earthquake, a disaster of unprecedented devastation, which the Japanese fire defence system coped with by mobilizing all of its resources. As a result of these consultations, the two parties recently reached an agreement providing a solution which would be acceptable to the Japanese people. The measures agreed on were, in short, to introduce a new system by revising the Fire Defence Organization Law. The new system was to be made up of fire defence personnel committees which would be established in all fire defence headquarters. These committees would discuss opinions concerning the improvement of working conditions or other subjects which would be proposed by the fire defence personnel.

The important points of this system were the guarantee of "locality" and "participation of personnel" in deciding the working conditions of fire defence personnel, which JICHIRO had demanded throughout the consultations. Regarding locality, this system would be established in each of the 931 fire defence headquarters across the country. With respect to personnel participation, all personnel could put forward opinions to the committee concerning improvements in their working conditions, individual outfits or other matters. All members of the committee would be fire defence personnel and half of these members would be appointed on the basis of recommendations made by the personnel themselves. The fire chief would act on the results of the committee's discussions, thereby giving consideration to the proposals of the personnel for improving their working conditions. Thus this new system would guarantee the participation of fire defence personnel in the process of deciding their working conditions and would be in line with the spirit of the protection of their rights. The Government and trade unions had agreed that both would make their utmost efforts to have this system firmly established and operating effectively so that fire defence personnel could further improve their economic status and other conditions. The Government considered that the manner of restricting the fundamental rights of workers for the sake of public welfare could be changed depending on a change in the consensus of the Japanese people. Accordingly, the Government considered that discussions on the right to organize of fire defence personnel, which was a fundamental right of workers, would be made in the future by the parties concerned.

The Workers' members expressed satisfaction that a certain amount of progress had been made with respect to this case which was one of the oldest cases before this Committee. Progress had been made mainly due to dialogue within the Committee, the assistance of the ILO and discussions held in Japan between the union concerned and the Japanese Government. While these discussions were not over, the first stages of an agreement had been reached on a very difficult case which had been outstanding in this Committee for a long time.

The Employers' members, referring to the problem of the denial of the right to organize of fire-fighting personnel, agreed that they were very pleased with the agreement that had been reached between the Government and the union concerned since this was indeed an old case before this Committee. It was important, here, that dialogue had not just been embarked upon, but that this dialogue had actually produced results which were acceptable to both parties. While further progress was possibly still needed, this first step would probably be followed by others, since in this case agreement had been reached after so many years of dialogue.

The Workers' member of Japan, who spoke on behalf of the Japanese Trade Union Confederation and the All-Japan Prefectural Municipal Workers' Union, first of all expressed his appreciation to the two high-ranking ILO officials who visited Japan last year to help the parties find a solution to this long-standing problem. The issue of the right to organize of fire-fighting personnel had been before this Committee for more than 20 years and it was therefore to be welcomed that the Government had finally agreed to make a step forward to solving this matter. The proposed introduction of the new system to the fire defence service was quite significant in terms of participation of fire-fighters in the determination of their working conditions, since at present there was no machinery for joint discussion or consultation. His organization would make utmost efforts to utilize the new system for improving the working conditions of fire-fighters through their representatives at their workplaces. However, the new system was not the final solution of this issue; therefore, whilst due note should be taken of the positive steps made so far, there was still a long way to go before Convention No. 87 was fully complied with, in law and in practice. In this respect, the supervisory machinery of the ILO could and should continue to play its constructive role in this process by asking for reports from the Government on further positive developments in this respect. On behalf of fire-fighters in Japan who had patiently striven for progress in this domain, the speaker expressed his sincere gratitude to both the Committee of Experts and the Conference Committee for their efforts to solve this problem. These fire-fighters were fully aware of the responsibility they had in carrying out essential services to the community and their commitment would not change even after they obtained their freedom of association.

The Government representative of Japan thanked the delegates from the Workers' and Employers' sides for the various comments made of which due note would be taken and reported to his Government.

The Committee noted the written communication and the oral information supplied by the Government representative, as well as the discussion which took place within the Committee. Recalling that, for many years, both the Committee of Experts and the Conference Committee had called upon the Government to take appropriate measures to find a solution satisfactory to all parties concerned to ensure the right to organize for fire-fighting personnel, the Committee noted with interest that the public authorities and the municipal workers' union had held consultations even in the difficult circumstances caused by the recent Kobe earthquake and had agreed to the introduction of a new system to guarantee the participation of fire-defence personnel in the process of determining and improving their working conditions. The Committee welcomed, with satisfaction, this important step towards the application of the Convention and encouraged the public authorities and the municipal workers' union to continue their dialogue. It also called upon the Government to amend the law and practice, truly reflecting the agreement already reached, and in a way that was consistent with Convention No. 87. The Committee asked the Government to report to the Committee of Experts on any further developments with regard to the application of the Convention.