| Women’s Rights for Decent Work International Women’s Day Central Rally Held (17 March 2003) |
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On the occasion of International Women’s Day on March 8th, RENGO held a series of national meetings, lectures, and workshops from the 7th to the 8th. On the 7th, RENGO Headquarters and RENGO Tokyo cosponsored the ‘3.8 International Women’s Day Central Rally’ held at Japan Education Center in Tokyo. Under the rally’s main theme, ‘Unions for Women, Women for Unions,’ 660 participants made an appeal for securing decent work* and correcting persisting wage gaps between men and women. (*Productive, meaningful, and satisfying work where rights are protected, adequate income is generated, and social protection is guaranteed.) Also read aloud was the Iraq Crisis Statement which RENGO issued on March 6. The rally called for a peaceful resolution of the crisis through UN-led international cooperation. International Women’s Day is part of a campaign where women throughout the world seek to improve wage/labor conditions and secure basic dignity and human rights for women. RENGO has been acting on this nationally since 1996.
Regarding the Iraq crisis, Kusano reported on RENGO’s activities to this point, including demand activities conducted at the American Embassy, the Japanese government / Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and RENGO’s March 6 statement. He added that RENGO “will continue stressing that the United States, Britain, and Iraqi Embassies, and the Japanese Government should work for a positive and peaceful solution.” Afterwards, Professor Mari Osawa of the Institute of Social Science at the University of Tokyo gave a lecture. She said that the vicious cycle of business stagnation, anxiety, and declining birthrates/aging population will worsen unless Japanese family life breaks from the stereotype of the ‘male bread winner’ (men earn income, women take care of the home and children) and gendered points of view penetrate labor movements and such social policies as pensions and the tax system. Osawa stated that it is important to reconstruct a sustainable safety net with an unbiased tax system, equal employment, and equal treatment, along with achieving a ‘collaboration’ between the workplace and domestic lives in order to allow the safety net to function normally. RENGO Assistant General Secretary Hayashi then introduced the issue of gender equality in this Spring Struggle’s as a RENGO proposal for the rally. Hayashi stressed that “by enacting of a new part-time work law, we hope that part-time labor where many women workers have been engaged will become decent work; RENGO will make every effort to achieve that.” Furthermore, Hayashi quoted ICFTU General Secretary Guy Ryder’s address to the 2003 Women’s Conference saying, “the need to recruit women to our movement, and to assure their full role in leadership and decision-making to work for equality can, and often is, presented as a condition for our survival….” She asked the audience, “Are labor unions responding to women’s needs? And do women proactively work to build labor union culture and movements?” With determination, she said, “It is common knowledge throughout the world that women are the strength of the future of labor unions and society. I want us to realize that and proudly push ahead with the movements.” Also at the rally, UI ZENSEN DOMEI’s (Japanese Federation of Textile, Chemical, Food, Commercial, Service & General Workers’ Unions) Nakasone, JOHO ROREN’s (Japan Federation of Telecommunications, Electronic Information & Allied Workers) Yamada, ZENTEI’s (Japan Postal Workers’ Union) Funo, and RENGO TOKYO Women’s Committee Member Miyaji each reported on activities at affiliated organizations. In addition, the rally sought an appeal for UN-led international cooperation to solve the Iraq crisis. |
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