The New Socialist Party (NSP) will begin a labor consultation campaign on December 1 across the country. Party members will respond to claims of workers until December 14. This is the fourth round of campaign. Today workers suffer as they cannot lead an ordinary life, while employers laugh, violating laws. Preparations should be made to solve labor disputes. Let's participate, all party members, in the campaign to listen directly to bitter voices of workers.


LET'S PREPARE FOR DECEMBER LABOR CONSULTATION CAMPAIGN!


Currently in Japan in total 2.1 million people are recipients of Life Protection Service benefits (as of March, 2012). Mass media keep bashing them; they report, for instance, that out of the total approximately 390 thousand are in their 20-50s and able to work but have no right reason for eligibility except for sickness and child-care.


Let's look at employment. In the electric industry workers have been sacked massively because of business deficits. Big corporations like Sony, Panasonic, NEC, Sharp, Toshiba, Hitachi and TDK have shut down some of their factories, producing 10-40 thousand jobless. Workers are left in the harsh storm of unemployment. If subcontractors of the big business are included, the number of jobless workers counts over 500 thousand. Firings are not limited to the electric industry, but extend to all the industries. Workers will face a more relentless attack.


Suicides Increase


Business managers pursue the rule of paying less tax and keeping down labor cost. As for the corporate tax, the rate declined from 30% (1980) to 18% (2011) on the state level taxation. Despite this fact the Keidanren (=Japan Business Federation) keeps claiming that the corporate tax in Japan is the highest in the world.


Meanwhile, however, workers' income has been decreasing since 1997. According to a survey on workers employed with a fixed-term contract, like part-time workers, contracted workers and dispatched workers (September, 2012, by Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare), 74.0% of these workers earn less than two million Yen annually. The number of workers with an income below this level counts almost 12 million people.


As for the minimum wage, the Ministry announced in September that an increase was made by \12 for the Fiscal 2012 on the average across the nation, being \749 per hour (\130,800 on the monthly basis). Even if the target of \800 an hour is reached, the monthly wage counts as low as \139,040. Analyzing the fact of an annual income below 2 million Yen, an overwhelming number of workers earn less than 1.5 million Yen. That is miserable.


Up to September this year in total 21,115 people have committed a suicide, the pace of which remains the same as that of the last decade, during which over 30 thousand killed themselves a year. Workers are in agony with a low wage.


Let's Empower Ourselves


A political party can organize people when it works steadily and sincerely with residents in the community. Employers flagrantly violate laws, including Labor Standard Law, and treat workers as a thing, while workers toil in order to defend their lives. The NSP stages a nationwide labor consultation campaign to listen to workers' voices and help them with all might.


During the campaign days party members will appeal to the public with our banner and hand over leaflets in the street. In the offices we will respond to telephone inquiries. The NSP works to link with unions in the community and to create one where a labor union is absent.


Every party member should participate in the campaign to empower him/her in solving labor disputes, which in turn encourages the party to acquire potential. We should prepare ourselves for the campaign during November, learning its importance, and arrange conditions for activities.


October 23, 2012