Rengo's Central Committee Moves to Prioritise Higher Pay, Better Rights for Contract Workers

In a bold move aimed at narrowing the disparity between high and low wage earners in Japan, the Trade Union Confederation Rengo, on 4 December, adopted an official policy of raising pay levels for contract workers in its 2008 spring wage negotiations.

The policy was adopted at Rengo's Central Committee meeting, and means that now it and Japanese Trade Union Confederation UI Zensen have prioritised that contract and temporary workers receive equal treatment to that of full-time employees in the country's social-work agenda.

Rengo's Central Committee also adopted a policy aimed at curbing the long work hours traditionally performed by Japanese workers. Rengo will demand that the legal premium for overtime pay be raised to 50% for work done on weekdays, and 100% on holidays. Currently, overtime pay is formulated at 25% above straight-time pay for weekdays and 35% for work performed on holidays.

In the spring 2008 wage offensive, Rengo will demand that companies sign a minimum wage agreement for contract workers, ensuring them of a salary that is higher than the official minimum wage. It will also push for revision of Japan's Worker Dispatch Law. That proposed change will guarantee more rights for contract workers and temporary workers.

Both Japanese trade union confederations, Rengo and UI Zensen, are acutely aware that the number of workers recruited for full-time employment has decreased, while recruitment of temporary workers, or workers through labour staffing agencies, has dramatically increased.