Japanese Trade Unions Form New Federation

Japan’s labor unions Friday formed a nationwide federation in a bid to stem decades of declining membership and to rekindle their drive to shorten the 48-hour workweek and improve working conditions.

Sixty-two unions from four federations merged into a single united front to try to boost the clout of a movement hurt by the apathy of an increasingly affluent and white-collar worker pool.

The new labor federation, the Japanese Private Sector Trade Union Confederation, will at the outset represent 5.6 million workers.

Japan’s unionization rate has fallen steadily since the late 1940s, when more than 50% of the labor force was organized. Last year, a record low 28% of the nation’s 43.8 million working people were union members, according to the Ministry of Labor.

“White-collar workers and the younger generation don’t feel any attraction to the unions,” said Masakazu Tsukamoto, a ministry assistant director.

“Before the war, people joined the unions to protect their jobs,” he said. But now, because of growing affluence and job security in Japan, “labor and management enjoy a good working relationship.”

In the new confederation, two of the four federations disbanded and a third is expected to do so soon, making the new body by far the largest grouping of private-sector unions.

The fourth and largest federation is the 4.4 million-member General Council of Trade Unions of Japan. Its private-sector unions joined the new federation now and its largest unions, from the public sector, will do so in 1990.