1998 Spring Struggle Appeal, 7 March 1998

The climax of the 1998 Spring Struggle will come soon. Rengo's affiliates and their unions have submitted demands and have repeatedly had negotiations with the management in the view of concluding agreements within March. In the meantime Rengo has developed a campaign against the government and the Diet for actualization of Rengo's policy-related demands, in particular those related to the revision of labour laws.

Japan is now facing a serious recession associated with financial and employment anxiety that was triggered by the consumption recession. This recession is caused by misjudged economic policies of the government, which gives the priority to the financial structural reform, without taking into account the increasing burden of 9 or 10 trillion yen imposed on the people, including the increase in the consumption tax. This economic recession can be recovered without a change in the people's mind, which is now characterized by "patience" and "austerity". In this sense, the 1998 Spring Struggle of Rengo has made significant demands, including such as the conversion into active economic policies and active wage increase. The responsibility assumed by the government and the social partners is crucial.

However, the employers have repeatedly insisted strengthening the international competitiveness and the repression of personnel costs and are now trying to repress the wage and also to deregulate unlimitedly work rules. In addition, the budget bill and financial policy of the government is not properly designed to remove the people's anxiety about the recession and employment. This means that the government has walked off its economic and social responsibility, giving the priority to micro-aspect, not to the current situation. Rengo, on behalf of all the working people, protests against it.

All the people, including working population, feel that the burden of living has gone beyond the limit and thus it is now necessary to make a concrete progress in improving their living standards and stimulating the economy for more employment opportunities in the view of correcting the disparity. We should win active wage increase, reduction of working hours towards 1800 hours, 6 trillion yen tax cut including cut in income tax by 4 trillion yen, the actualization of Rengo's proposal for the Labour Standards Law revision, and the cessation of deregulating Dispatched Workers Law.

Rengo, its affiliates and all their members continue making efforts in pressing employers and the government, in cooperation with all other workers including Rengo's members, the unorganized, part-timer and dispatched workers.