Japanese Trade Union Confederation (RENGO)

The 174th Ordinary Session of the Diet Opened

1. On 18 January 2010, the 174th Ordinary Session of the Diet began. This ordinary session which is the first one after the change of political power last year is scheduled to deliberate highly important bills for the Japanese economy and people’s life including financial measures for economic recovery, breakaway from deflation and overcome of employment crisis. The session is also scheduled to deliberate FY2010 revision of tax schemes, revisions of the Worker Dispatch Law and the Employment Insurance Act, and the reformation of government systems to establish politician-led politics. RENGO has given its opinions on the budget drafts and bills from the view point of the working people through policy consultations with the government at various levels. The current session of the Diet is a significant one for the Hatoyama government under the slogan “Putting People’s Lives First!” as well as for RENGO which tackles realizing its policies and systems demands.
   
   
2. Prime Minister Hatoyama expressed, in his policy speech at the opening of the 173th extraordinary Diet session, a grand design for realizing a sustainable Japanese society which his government aims at. He also expressed his determination to boldly promote reforms of social and economic systems. It is necessary for the current Diet session to fully respond to the expectation of the people who earnestly desire the stability of life and elimination of anxiety. RENGO sincerely ask the government and both the ruling and opposition parties to make constructive policy deliberations and to conduct a Diet management which meets to the people’s mandate and trust.
   
   
3. RENGO demands early passage and execution of the FY2009 second supplementary budget and the FY2010 regular budget so that the creation of children’s allowances and substantially free high school fees as well as urgent economic measures and other measures proposed by the DPJ in its election manifesto can steadily take effect. RENGO also demands early passage of the FY2010 tax scheme reforms including “Bill for Making Special Taxation Measures Transparent” (tentative name) as a first step for taxation system reforms which any former governments could not carry out. Furthermore, RENGO demands early passage of the bills to revise the Worker Dispatch Law and the Employment Insurance Act so that the protection of workers and the security of employment can be further strengthened.
   
   
4. Meanwhile, it is very regrettable that just before the opening of the Diet session an incumbent Diet member of the DPJ and other men were arrested on the matter of land purchase by a political fund management organization of General Secretary of the DPJ. RENGO will keep watch over the investigation, hoping that all the facts will be made clear. At the same time, RENGO requests the DPJ to make proper responses according to the circumstances.
   
   
5. In order to realize a “work-centered welfare society”, RENGO will continue to tackle its three pillar policies, namely “effective implementation of comprehensive economic measures for economic and consumption recovery and for protection of employment and life”, “employment security and, improvement and expansion of safety nets” and “establishment of a social security system which enables people to live safely”. Furthermore, RENGO will strongly promote a struggle for comprehensive betterment of living conditions, regarding the efforts to realize FY2010 policy and system demands and to improve wage and other working conditions in the coming 2010 Spring Struggle for Betterment of Life as the “two wheels of one cart” which bring about a great synergy on RENGO’s movements.