Japanese Trade Union Confederation (RENGO)

KOGA says!
Government’s Policy of Handling National Personnel Authority’s Recommendation for This Fiscal Year

The Japanese Government, at its 4th Salary-Related Ministers Conference held today, discussed the handling of the recommendation made by the National Personnel Authority for this fiscal year and came up with a policy that while the salary raise for the civil servants in the general posts for the current fiscal year will be implemented as recommended, that of those who are in designated posts will not be carried out. The policy was officially decided at the Cabinet Meeting sequentially held, resulting in an incomplete implementation of the National Personnel Authority’s Recommendation for the first time since 1997, even though the failure is limited to those in designated posts.

Because the National Personnel Authority’s Recommendation System is a compensatory measure for restrictions of fundamental trade union rights of civil servants, JTUC-RENGO had requested the Prime Minister and the Chief Cabinet Secretary for a complete implementation of the Recommendation for this fiscal year. While the Government shows a view that “there is no change in the Government’s basic stance to respect the National Personnel Authority’s Recommendation which performs the compensatory function for restrictions of fundamental trade union rights,” it is regrettable that the government has decided its policy to handle the Recommendation as such, which surely shake and undermine the basis and credibility of the System by the Government itself. We cannot but say that the incomplete implementation of the Recommendation vividly shows that the National Personnel Recommendation System has collapsed as a system to determine wage and other working conditions of the civil servants.

We also have to express our dissatisfaction to the fact that the Government’s decision had been postponed for about three months since the recommendation was made on August 8, viewing from the point of the Government’s responsibility for civil servants as their employer. However, the improvement of the salary of civil servants in general posts on the basis of the handling policy decided today will not only respond to the strong aspiration of public employees for salary improvement, but also it will give not a little influence upon a recovery of local economy. In that meaning, the Government should submit a bill to revise the salary to the Diet immediately and try to pass it in the current session of the Diet.

On October 19, Special Survey Committee of the Head Office for the Promotion of Administrative Reform, in its report titled “What and How the Fundamental Trade Union Rights of Civil Servants Should Be”, made such a report, as a direction toward a reform, that “a change should be made toward a system in which workers and employers can decide working conditions autonomously” and “the right to conclude collective agreements should be newly granted to a certain of non-clerical civil servants.” Now that the systemic limitation of the National Personnel Authority has been made clear, it is needed to establish fundamental trade union rights for civil servants on the basis of the report made by the Special Survey Committee and realize early a system to determine wage and other working conditions through collective bargaining. From now on, JTUC-RENGO will strongly demand it to the Government and at the same time JTUC-RENGO will continue to make efforts, together with member organizations concerned, for a reform of industrial relation in the public service centered on fundamental trade union rights and for building up a public service which is responsive and opened to the mandate of the people.