WEEKLY RENGO No.361

Priority to be given to economic recovery and employment creation: Central Committee held
(2 October 1998)

RENGO held its 28th Central Committee in Tokyo on 2 October. It approved the 1998 activities and decided the 1999 action plans, including:

promoting structural reform with emphasis on the people's living;

strengthening employment security, improving wages and working condition and establishing workers' rights;

correcting wage disparity by uniting workers of small and medium enterprises;

expanding of membership through bold actions taken by RENGO as a whole;

promoting international solidarity aiming at peace, human rights and fairness

building gender equal workplace and society

actualizing political and institutional reform through active participation of working people in politics

Appeal adopted at the 28th Central Committee, 2 October 1998

Due to misjudged economic policies by the Government, we are now in long-term recession, industries and enterprises speeding up restructuring process and the unemployment rate and job offer rate recording the worst in history. Not only small and medium enterprises, but also major enterprises are faced with the crisis of bankruptcy and the sense of insecurity held by workers of these enterprises are getting bigger. Furthermore, there raises another sense of insecurity about future caused by recent review of social security systems. The future prospect of Japan is now only getting worse and worse.

RENGO judges that Japanese economy and society would loose stability and would be criticised by the international community if we leave this situation as it is. RENGO has set up the headquarters for the struggle to materialise its demands. The headquarters has been active in requesting for urgent economic and employment measures and other measures to be taken in the process of budget making for FY 1999. It will develop various activities toward the end of the year with a slogan of "economic recovery, employment creation and fair labour standards."

In a more concrete sense, RENGO will struggle to materialise the followings:

stabilising living and employment by implementing positive policies such as 6 trillion yen tax cut and 4 trillion yen provision, correcting unfair tax system and enforcing financial reconstructing measures;

setting up stable and reliable social security system;

implementing positive employment measures to create one million jobs, in particular in the areas of medical and welfare services, housing and information;

reviewing the employment adjustment subsidy system and bankruptcy-related legislation in the view of easing the employment situation;

assisting the unemployed to find jobs and extending the livelihood protection during unemployed period.

Current Domestic
Actions