Japanese Trade Union Confederation (RENGO)

KOGA Says!
The Ordinance to Prohibit Check-off System Approved by the Osaka City Assembly

1. The Osaka City Assembly approved, in its plenary session held on 28 March 2008, “Draft Ordinance to Revise Part of the Ordinance Concerning the Salary of the City Employees” submitted by a group of assembly members composed of those who belong to the Liberal Democratic Party and the Citizen’ Club. Thereby, the check-off system of union dues for Osaka City Employees Union will be abolished from FY2009. This measure to one-sidedly prohibit the check-off system of union dues constitutes the denial of the right to organize of the workers and unfairly interferes politically with the autonomy of the labour-management relationship. RENGO can never accept this action by any means.
2. The check-off system of union dues is the system to deduct union dues from the salaries and/or wages of the employees who are members of the union by mutual agreement between the union and the employer and to hand over the dues collected to the union in one lump sum. The check-off system of the union dues which has planted its roots deeply and widely and has established the basis of a sound labour and management relationship is a legitimate system in the light of Article 28 of the Constitution of Japan and Article 24 of the Labour Standards Law guaranteeing the basic trade union rights including the right to organize.
3. The established judicial precedents or Labour Commission’s orders specify concerning the cases of the one-sided abolishment by the employers of the check-off system of the union dues that it is for the control of and interference with the trade union and that it constitutes an unfair labour practice. Moreover, ILO’s Committee on Freedom of Association has also specified in many cases that the regulation of the check-off system by the government violates ILO Convention No. 87. It is an international common practice to entrust the check-off system to the autonomy of labour and management. Political interference in disregard of the agreement between labour and management is never allowed.
4. The measure taken this time does not stop at the issue of the trade union concerned. RENGO will call attention of the trade unions of all over the country and will continue to watch such political denial of the basic trade union rights and unjust interference with the autonomy of labour and management relationship very closely.