Monday, March 23, 2009

Government-Labor-Management Meeting for the Generation and Stability of Employment

Prime Minister Taro Aso held a government-labor-management meeting for the generation and stability of employment at the Prime Minister's Office.

Prime Minister Aso and relevant Cabinet members attended the meeting as representatives of the government. Mr. Fujio Mitarai, Chairman of the Nippon Keidanren (Japan Business Federation), Mr. Tadashi Okamura, Chairman of the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Mr. Akio Saeki, Chairman of the National Federation of Small Business Associations represented management; and Mr. Tsuyoshi Takagi, President of the Japanese Trade Union Confederation (RENGO) represented labor.

The three sides agreed to unite their efforts to stabilize and generate employment, based on a shared understanding that in order to dispel the people's anxiety over employment it is essential that the government, management, and labor act as one and overcome the current difficult circumstances together. Efforts of the three sides are to include encouraging the management and labor to work on "Japanese-style work sharing," which tries to maintain employment by slashing overtime work and introducing days off.

Prime Minister Aso said, "As we find ourselves amidst the era of economic emergency, the people's anxiety over employment must be tackled by the government, management, and labor working as one. We should expect this unpredictable situation to continue for a while. I would like each of the three sides to respond in accordance with their own responsibility to overcome the current difficult circumstances."