Japan – what can we learn? - Construction Labour Research

More documents

Recommendations

Info

1.3 Industrial Federation of Enterprise UnionsThough enterprise-based unions are highly independentorganisationally and financially, they are not totally isolated from oneanother. In many cases, they are coalesced into industrial federations.Industrial federations are composed of enterprise-based unions in thesame industry (such as the Japanese Electrical Electronic &Information Union, DENKI RENGO, and the Japan Federation of Ironand Steel Workers' Unions, TEKKO ROREN), which then areorganised into the national centre, RENGO. Also operating are localindustrial union organisations, which unite local units of largeenterprise-based unions as well as local union councils embracingunions at local enterprises. The federations composed of enterprisebasedunions are engaged in a wide range of activities that theenterprise-unions as such would not be able to undertake - organisingthe unorganised, making and implementing unified action policieswhich are binding on member unions, and adjusting dissimilarinterests of member unions within and beyond the industriesconcerned. Mainly industrial union federations and the national centreundertake the formulation of strategies and policy recommendationssupported by research and investigation. The organisations unitingenterprise-based unions, especially industrial federations, are playingan important role in complementing the widely dispersed state ofoperation of Japanese unionism. But we must admit that in spite allthese efforts the said weakness still persists. RENGO alone has asmany as over 80 industrial union federations as its members. Inaddition there are 100-200 similar organisations outside of RENGO.Under these circumstances, the important organisational task is up toRENGO to consolidate diverse unions in the same industries so thatthe size of each industrial federation will be enlarged for furtherempowerment.2. Development of Trade Union Functions2.1 Centralized coordination of decentralized collective bargainingGiven the union structure, collective bargaining is undertakenindependently at the enterprise level. The negotiating functions aredecentralized. However, this does not mean that negotiations are donetotally separately. For what is called industrial united struggle linksenterprise-level bargaining with one another, functioning to coordinatethem. This system may be regarded as a functional equivalent of theCLR News No 2/200653
trans-enterprise or industrial negotiation practice of North Americanand European unionism.The typical form of the interlinked negotiations is the Spring Struggle(Shunto) which functions as a wage decision mechanism at the macrolevel. Launched about 40 years ago, Shunto is defined as a "unitedstruggle under the united leadership conducted in a specified period inspring every year mainly for wage increase in which as manyindustrial unions as possible are asked to participate." It is a sort of"pattern bargaining" in which otherwise isolated wage bargainingefforts are horizontally linked so as to have the effect of raising wagestandards to the highest possible level. The standard thus establishedwill spread across society and help to raise the general wage level.Shunto-activities are not limited to the spring season alone. TheShunto policymaking begins in the autumn, following unionconventions in the summer that evaluate the previous achievementsand discuss policies of the following year. It is a whole year activityrepeating this cycle every year. In this cycle information is exchangedamong the participating unions helping them formulate final policiesand crystallising a unified will to fight. A pattern-setter union, whosegains have broad ripple effects, benefiting even non-unionisedworkers, usually spearheads the Shunto campaign. Thanks to theseripple effects, the wage levels can converge on the level attained bythe Spring Struggle. In this sense, Japanese wage negotiations, thoughbasically decentralized, integrate in them a centralised coordinationmechanism.Without considering this mechanism it would be impossible to explainwhy the wage gap did not grow significantly even in theunprecedented long stagnation in the 1990s. Nevertheless, we have toadmit that Shunto is at a turning point too. It must change in the faceof the rapidly changing economic environment and aggravatedinternational competition, which is causing yawning capacity gapsamong enterprises. Aware of this, RENGO has begun discussing howShunto can be revitalised in the new situation.2.2 Joint consultation system as a channel of communicationAnother characteristic of Japanese industrial relations is that alongwith collective bargaining the management joint consultation systemis a widespread and generally accepted practice. Under this system,representatives of labour and management discuss matters related toCLR News No 2/200654
Page 1 and 2:
No 2/2006Japan - what can we learn?
Page 3 and 4: separate nation states, local build
Page 6: "shortening of exploitation's horiz
Page 10 and 11: The Japanese construction industry
Page 12 and 13: time could be up to 50 or more hour
Page 14 and 15: The differences between sites in th
Page 16 and 17: most of its importance since then.
Page 18: But asked, who decides on the wages
Page 21 and 22: policy were Toyota, Nissan, Canon,
Page 23 and 24: Figure 2 C om position of Investm e
Page 25 and 26: 3.2 Investment sheetSecondary, the
Page 27 and 28: Maintenance and repairN ew construc
Page 29 and 30: period of continuous cut back of or
Page 31 and 32: enterprises, such as Nippon Steel C
Page 33 and 34: of architectural design, engineerin
Page 35 and 36: is constructed without blueprints.
Page 37 and 38: task over again bearing the cost of
Page 39 and 40: outsource every production function
Page 41 and 42: so that any significant changeover
Page 43 and 44: sixties or seventies who have retir
Page 45 and 46: Immigration law allows residential
Page 47 and 48: Today, domestic construction demand
Page 49 and 50: 1993. Then there was a decrease to
Page 51 and 52: Hundredmillion 億円yen1400012000
Page 53: workers belong to enterprise-based
Page 57 and 58: Union (DENKI RENGO), Confederation
Page 59 and 60: unions on their part have advocated
Page 61 and 62: again. Industry specific federation
Page 63 and 64: consult, while involved with variou
Page 65 and 66: that unions can bring many positive
Page 67 and 68: Figure 1. The Image of the J-CorpCo
Page 69 and 70: References:OKAMOTO, Hideaki(1964) "
Page 71 and 72: Nr. 3. Stress in the European const
Page 73 and 74: We proudly present: a new publisher
show all

Japan – what can we learn? - Construction Labour Research

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?