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RENGO held the 13th Central Executive
Committee on September 14th at headquarters. The agenda centered
on the discussion "Dealing with the demands for the policies
and system for fall 2000."
RENGO decided
to initiate a Strikers' Headquarters as a move toward realizing
our demands during the 150th extra session of the Diet this fall
and the ordinary session next year. RENGO will mobilize its resources
to enforce our demands of political parties to act on countermeasures
in the Diet and hear the voices of the people.
The key policy issues follow:
1.Major policy
concerns during the 150th extra diet session
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(1) |
To enact a supplementary budget
that would create new employment opportunities.
RENGO
will change the government supplementary budget currently focused
on the public investment into a budget for countermeasures to
create new employment opportunities. We will try to lower the
unemployment rate to 3 percent by the end of the year 2000. |
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(2) |
To oppose the plan for reforming
the health insurance law and to promote health care reform
The plan for reforming the health insurance law is
to increase limits of consumer's share of already-expensive medical
fees. But reforming insurance cost rate limits, expenses for
elderly outpatients to a fixed 10 percent is not true reform,
it instead only increases the people's burdens.
RENGO
demands this flawed plan be stopped. And we will demand fundamental
reforms of attitudes to health care, including insuring elderly
and the overall medical insurance system. |
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(3) |
To enact the corporate pension
basic bill
The government's pension bill with
certain contributions has problems of limited non-tax amount
differentials, shifting difficulties to the retirement allowance.
Although circumstance are ripe for a new system, RENGO will not
endorse this bill.
What is needed as soon as possible
is a corporate pension basic bill – a Japanese version of
Employee Retirement Income Security Act 1974 – which assures
the right of receipt for all with retirement allowances and corporate
pensions and regulates the responsibilities of the trustees. |
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(4) |
To enact a bill to adjucate
in labor and management conflicts
With a growing
number of labor-management conflicts, RENGO will prepare a bill
to adjucate in individual conflicts between labor and management
as a legislation. This bill will empower a labor committee to
consult, assist, intervene and mediate when a conflict between
labor and management occurs. |
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(5) |
To enact a bill criminalizing
undue profits for employment agents
This bill
will prohibit a politician from collecting a fee for helping
an administrator find a job. Included among those excluded from
collecting profits are Diet members, local assemblymen and local
officials. Family members or secretaries would also be prohibited
from receiving financial rewards, which would include cash, securities,
paintings, calligraphic works, debt exemptions, low-rate loans
and receptions. Penalties would include fines and or jail. |
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(6) |
A bill to reform police
To curb police administration scandals, a police
bill should be reformed. In the reform, the National Public Safety
Commission should be re-enforced with internal inspections and
outside monitoring of important cases. Function of local public
safety commissions should be enforced, and a commission to deal
with complaints should be instituted. Information about police
administration should be opened to the public. |
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(7) |
To enact an IT-related bill
To reform the electronic commerce, a system to protect
the consumers should be created, one that will avoid damage by
protecting consumers' privacy. We will demand an electronic commerce
system to be expanded by fixing the problems. |
2.Policy issues for
the next ordinary diet session
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(1) |
To compose a year 2001 budget
that creates new job opportunities, enforces social security
standards and reconsiders public utility services.
RENGO
will demand a year 2000 budget which will quicken a secure life
and employment. In that budget, the following items should be
included: A project to create new job opportunities by lowering
the unemployment rate to 3 percent; raising the Treasury's share
of the basic pension to 50 percent, stregthening services for
the elderly and the sick, and an enactment of a public utility
service control bill which focuses service on life-related and
information-related fields. |
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(2) |
To enact a bill to support
working families
RENGO will work to enact a bill
supporting workers with families. Provisions for care of children,
elders and the sick should be reformed by including shorter working
hours and leaves of absenses.
We will strive
to shorten working hours for workers with families, and instigate
this as a broad social movement. |
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(3) |
To eliminate taxes on profit
from consumer tax and invoice for the consumer tax. To impose
a total tax on income and property and to introduce a numbering
system for the taxpayers. To introduce the favorable tax system
for NPO and to realize the tax reform by transforming local governments. |
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(4) |
To realize social security
reform which clarifies the role of the national pension, medical
care and care for elder and sick people. |
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(5) |
To enact "A bill to protect
the workers during the reorganization of an enterprise"
and to address "Prohibiting labor discrimination in the
workplace." |
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(6) |
To secure and create employment
and enforce measures to improve a work skills, we will work to
reform the "Secure Employment among Economically-Depressed
Businesses Field Law" and "Developing Work Skills Law'
and to improve a bill for increasing employment. |
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(7) |
To enforce the base for small
business, we will try to reform the "Preventing Delayed
Payments to Subcontractors Law" and the "Antimonopoly
Act. |
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(8) |
To respect human rights and
to promote educations reform which restore excellence in standards. |
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(9) |
To enact a "Bill to Evaluate
an Administration" and "Bill to Protect Information
on Individuals" and to promote administrative reform for
people to attend meetings as a representative of the labor union
council. |
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