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Resolves to make all-out efforts to prevent constitutional revision and to further increase its organizational strength

The National Confederation of Trade Unions (ZENROREN), a national trade union center in Japan, held its 21st biennial congress July 28-30 in Tokyo and resolved to make an all-out effort to prevent the Constitution from being adversely revised as an urgent task, along with efforts to defend jobs and living conditions.

The action program adopted unanimously after a two-day discussion emphasizes the need to make even greater efforts to develop grassroots actions in every place of work and community to defend peace and living conditions, block the adverse revision of the Constitution that the two major parties (ruling Liberal Democratic Party and opposition Democratic Party of Japan) are promoting, and further increase ZENROREN's organizational strength. (See the attached below)

ZENROREN is seen as a reliable defender of workers' rights against government and corporate attacks at a time when the government is rushing to ease regulations to allow employers to force white-collar workers to work without regard for the 8-hour day rule, increase part-time and other unstable jobs, thus arousing public anger at corporate restructuring and wage cuts.

Pointing out how harmful a "two-party" system, ZENROREN President Kumagai Kanemichi in his opening address said that ZENROREN is to make all-out efforts to prevent constitutional revision as "the most important political battle in Japan since the end of WWII."

A delegate from the General Federation of Cinema and Theatrical Workers Union of Japan (Eien-soren) expressed his resolve to increase their struggles in opposition to constitutional revision, learning from the bitter experience of cinema and drama workers suppression of their freedom of expression during WWII.

A delegate from Nara Prefecture reported that his prefectural federation last year received 450 calls from workers seeking advice to solve their work-related problems and that they helped settle many cases, including dismissals and supported bereaved families of workers who died from overwork.

Many delegates spoke about their activities of “Minimum wage simulation2 campaign and for establishing a national minimum standards.

Kumagai Kanemichi was reelected as ZENROREN president and Ban'nai Mitsuo as ZENROREN secretary general.

At a news conference following the congress, ZENROREN President Kumagai said, "I will continuously make efforts to draw all 1.3 million ZENROREN members' strength to put the new action program into practice."

Commemorating its 15th founding anniversary this autumn, ZENROREN invited 15 foreign guests from 8 countries of Asia and Pacific region as well as 2 international trade union organizations to its convention.

Asia-Pacific trade unions hold discussion in Tokyo

Trade union representatives from 8 countries of Asia and Pacific region and two international trade union organizations exchanged accounts of their activities and views in Tokyo on 26 July 2004 at an International Trade Union Conference sponsored by the National Confederation of Trade Unions (ZENROREN) on the eve of its 21st Regular Convention.

ZENROREN President Kanemichi Kumagai made welcome address and Secretary-General Mitsuo Bannai put forward points for discussion.

ZENROREN leaders and 15 union representatives from Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Korea, Pakistan, the Philippines and Vietnam discussed common concerns, including globalization, increasing non-regular workers, and efforts to organize unorganized workers.

Participants spoke about increasing economic globalization, the international transfer of goods, money, and personnel, privatization in the interests of multinational corporations, and deregulations, that are making employment more unstable and worsening working conditions in their countries.

International participants also criticized the U.S.-led Iraq war and expressed support for Japanese workers' struggle against an adverse revision of the war-renouncing Article 9 of the Constitution.

Foreign Participants and points for discussion proposed by ZZENROREN Secretary General Mitsuo Bannai are as follows:

Australia
Mr. David Noonan, National Assistant Secretary, Construction, Forestry, Mining, Energy Union (CFMEU)

China
Mr. ZHANG Jian-guo, Director, Collective Agreement Department, All China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU); Mr. WANG Mingran, Chief, the Japanese Division, International Liaison Department, ACFTU

India
Mr. Shyamal Chakraborty, National Secretary, Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU)

Indonesia
Mr. Rekson Silaban, President, K-SBSI

Korea
Mr. Kang, Ik-Ku, Director of Planning Department, Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU)
Mr. Lee, Changgeun, International Secretary, Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU)

Pakistan
Mr. Prizada Syed Ali, Secretary General, All Pakistan Federation of United Trade Unions; Mr. Ejaz Hussein, Vice President, APFUTU; Mr. Mazhar Iqbal Danish, Deputy Education Secretary, APFUTU

Philippines
Mr. Josua Mata, Secretary General, Alliance of Progressive Labor (APL)

Vietnam
Mr. Nguyen Dinh Thang, Vice President, Vietnam General Confederation of Labor (VGCL); Mr. Vo Van Nhat, Deputy Director, Department of International Relations, VGCL

World Confederation of Labor
Ms. Necie M. Lucero, Vice President, World Confederation of Labor (WCL), and Secretary General, the Brotherhood of Asian Trade Unionists (BATU)

World Federation of Trade Unions
Mr. H. Mahadevan, Deputy Secretary General, World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU), Chief, WFTU Asia Pacific Regional Office, Deputy Secretary General, All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC)

Points for discussion:

A. What issues face Asian workers and why their common ground is expanding?

1. Mosaic continent Asia: its diversity of nation, language, religion, social system, level of economic development, life of population, etc.

2. Accelerating expansion of common ground resulted from: economic globalization and dynamic development of Asian economies, international mobility of “goods, money and people,” scientific and technological innovation and technology transfer, etc.

3. Enlarged gap between the rich and the poor within and among nations, intensified inequality and injustice, rule of “Hegemon” and unilateralism, enhancing global action against war.

B. New development of the situation, present conditions of workers’ struggles and their tasks

4. Workers’ activity for their demands in respective countries, trade unions tackling for strengthened organization, bargaining power and unionization; their participation in politics and efforts for progressive change in politics, progress of workers forces in the elections of India, Korea, etc.

5. Efforts for establishing universal rights of workers and trade unions: WTO negotiations reached an impasse and promoted bilateral and multilateral trade agreements; international labor standards and ILO instruments; corporate social responsibility (CSR) and control over transnational corporations, democratic change of IMF and other international institutions; national sovereignty and a New International Economic Order (NIEO)

6. Enhancing global action against war ? united actions of workers and people against the war on Iraq; World Social Forum (WSF) and Asia Social Forum; Successful Conference of Non-Aligned Nations, New currents for peace originated from Asian continent coping with the unilateralism ? ASEAN Regional Forum, ASEAN+3 (China, Japan, Korea), East Asia Community; Vital importance of struggle against Japan-U.S. military alliance and revision of the Constitution of Japan (Article 9).

C. For strengthened solidarity and cooperation of Asian workers

7. Our common recognition: principle of equality and non-interference, promotion of mutual understanding and of joint effort on agreed points

8. Two factors of international workers solidarity: efforts for advancement of their struggles in respective countries and mutual support for their struggles

9. Recent international trade union regrouping initiatives and their impact, regionalization and globalization of trade union work, and their “globalization from grass-roots”

10. Challenges of Asian workers and trade unions: our common issues and concrete initiatives − exchange of information, bilateral and multilateral exchanges, regional centers.

(Excerpt)

Part I: Major Gains of ZENROREN’s Struggles since the Last Convention

1. What changes have occurred in the situation since the last Convention?

1-1. Since the ZENROREN’s 20th Statutory Convention two years ago, globalization of economy has further accelerated. The wealth of the world is concentrating even more in the United States and few other developed nations while, in the opposite pole, developing countries are suffering from aggravating poverty and hunger. In parallel with this, the “casino capitalism” that makes the fate of a company or even a state dependant on the prices given to “mere papers” called stocks, along with the moral hazard of giant multinational corporations, is exacerbating the contradictions and crisis of the capitalist societies.

During these two years, the U.S. has unveiled its true nature and acted as the sole “hegemon” in the world. It has ignored the United Nations and declared that it would launch a “pre-emptive attack against any country of the axis of evil”. It has also withdrawn unilaterally from major international treaty regimes including the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) and the Protocol of Kyoto for the prevention of global warming. The war it unjustly conducted against Iraq and the ensuing military occupation now dragging on with escalation of violence, coupled with an economic policy that mercilessly sacrifices other countries to protect the U.S. vested interests, are being largely criticized by the international community including the U.S. allies. This fact itself is announcing the precipitated end of the “U.S. era”.

In Europe, on the other hand, the European Union (EU) has been extended to include 25 countries with a total population of 450 million, marking another step towards a “prosperous Europe without war” while ensuring the rights of workers and citizens on the basis of the principles of freedom, equality and solidarity. In addition, significant political changes have occurred in different places in the world, in particular following the presidential election in Brazil, the local elections in France and the general elections in Spain, India and South Korea. These changes stand out in sharp contrast with the politics in Japan and the U.S. that become more and more reactionary.

1-2. As a matter of fact, in Japan, under the Prime Minister Koizumi who has blindly pledged his allegiance to the Bush administration, a series of dangerous laws (Law on Special Anti-terrorist Measures, Law on Special Measures for Iraq, Law on the Support for U.S. Armed Forces and Law on the Protection of the Population) have been put in place to make it possible for Japan to fight wars abroad as it did in the past and the Self Defense troops have been sent to Iraq in defiance of a strong popular opposition. Due to such a reactionary attitude of the Koizumi government, Japan is increasingly isolated in Asia as well as in the rest of the world.

Japanese big corporations are praising themselves for having achieved a V-shaped recovery by realizing record-high profitability while imposing sacrifices on workers and continue to proceed with massive dismissals and substantial salary cuts. Such high-handed behavior is rarely seen in the international community and stands out by its aberrance. As evidenced by numerous industrial accidents causing deaths and injuries as well as by high incidence of crimes and other infractions, the business circles and big corporations are neglecting workers safety and considerably lacking morality. Moreover, they refuse to assume their social responsibilities for job security, tax payment and social security and advocate for a two-party system that would allow them to control the politics by donating money to political parties. Such arbitrary and irresponsible behaviors have impeded a sound development of the Japanese society.

The bottom line of the policies implemented by the Prime Minister Koizumi who came to power claiming that he would “destroy LDP politics” has been nothing but the extensive destruction of jobs, livelihoods and social security of workers and the population as well as peace and democracy of our country. However, the “structural reform with no sanctuary” forcibly conducted by his government has also upset the classic practices and vested interests of individuals and organizations that used to be considered as “conservative” and prompted changes among them.

1-3. In appearance, the political developments that took place in our country during the last two years seem to be characterized by the arbitrary actions of the Liberal Democratic Party and Komei Party on one hand and by the stagnation of the progressive and democratic forces on the other. However, this is merely a transient phenomenon, not a steady trend. Looking at the political changes that have occurred since the latter half of the 20th century from the medium-term viewpoint, we can see that the situation is evolving surely to make workers and the people the main players of our nation.

It is in this context that ZENROREN has been fighting with all its strength to meet the pressing demands of workers, to protect the interests of every citizen and to defend peace and democracy. When the attacks on workers and the population in general conducted by the Koizumi Cabinet and business circles are creating contradictions that in turn undermine even the traditional form of their rule, ZENROREN has pursued joint initiatives with all unions on the basis of common demands as well as dialogues with all social forces, including conservative forces and has brought forward its movement at national and local levels.

2. What have we achieved so far?

1-4. At the 20th Convention held two year ago, we identified five priority tasks we should work on with special emphasis until the 21st Convention among the tasks included in the ZENROREN’s mid-term goals to be attained by 2010: the “Perspective and Objectives at the Beginning of the 21st Century”. They were: (1) improvement in minimum wages and treatment for part-time workers equal to full-time workers; (2) establishment of a law for regulating dismissals and elimination of unpaid overtime work; (3) progress in the struggle for NTT (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation) and JNR (Japan National Railways) workers and establishment of the basic labor rights for public servants; (4) opposition to health care and pension reforms and to consumption tax increase and (5) opposition to revision of the Constitution and to the contingency laws.

At the same time, the 20th Convention decided to vigorously promote the creation of the “Organizing Campaign Fund” that aimed at stopping the continued decline in unionization rates, with a firm resolve to take up the challenge of conducting a wide-ranging organizing campaign with ZENROREN, affiliated federations as well as their regional and local organizations working as one body.

1-5. As for the struggle for minimum wage, we have made progress through joint actions of both the public and private sector unions and their regional and local organizations. Their actions included petitioning to the central government, the municipalities, lobbying the central and local minimum wage commissions, campaign of simulation of living with minimum wage, petitioning to the local assemblies etc. As a result of these actions, we have been successful in preventing the government and business circles from cutting local minimum wages and even in obtaining increases in some prefectures. For achieving equal treatment for part-time workers, we have fought by enhancing the activities of the Liaison of part-time and temporary workers unions at national and local levels and mobilizing public opinion in the society.

However, in the situation where many big corporate unions have given up the demand for better wages, along with the employers’ attack of further lowering wages on the pretext of increasing international competition, the traditional spring wage struggle threatens to “degenerate and fall apart”. This calls for the reconstructing of unions’ wage struggle by returning to the starting point of the spring wage offensive (Shunto) that consists of wining wage increases by unified actions of all unions across corporate or industrial federation borders.

1-6. For the regulation of dismissals, we have succeeded in preventing the government’s plan of incorporating a clause on the freedom of firing into the Labor Standards Law and getting instead a provision that “any dismissal that has no rationality is not valid” included in the Law. In addition, we have had an administrative notice issued for reducing unpaid overtime work as well as the payment of more than 26 billions yen in total for overtime work that had remained unpaid over the last two years. We have also progressed in developing initiatives both at national and local levels for establishing and improving “urgent public subsidy for job creation in local communities”. Moreover, we have obtained ILO recommendations approving ZENROREN’s assertions regarding JNR and NTT workers complaints and the basic rights of public servants.

However, as large corporations are further reducing their workforce on the pretext of “streamlining”, the full unemployment rate has remained around 5.5% for the last two years. Serious job shortage for the new graduates and high unemployment rate of young workers are posing problems to our society. The struggle for establishing adequate working rules to enable workers to work in humane conditions continues to be the biggest task for the Japanese trade union movement.

1-7. Regarding the struggle for better social security, we have developed joint initiatives in many places in the country with medical associations and other organizations of health-care professionals and achieved progress in our opposition to health care reform in particular through a signature collection campaign that gathered in 30 million signatures. In the 2004 Spring Offensive, we conducted a big campaign against the governmental pension reform plan by successfully organizing a strike named “April 15 Pension Strike” participated in by more than one million people that exerted considerable pressure on the government. The idea of establishing a “guaranteed minimum pension system” first proposed by ZENROREN and the pensioners’ union is enjoying a growing public support.

Nevertheless, not only the government and the ruling parties but also the Democratic Party and Rengo have been pleading for increasing the consumption tax rate on the pretext of ensuring the financing of pension and other social security benefits. The current social security system that the workers and the people of Japan built through their struggle after WWII is now under the threat of being completely torn down into pieces.

1-8. During the last two years, peace has been threatened in many places in the world by the war of aggression against Iraq conducted by American and British troops and the extension of terrorism and armed conflicts. In Japan, the Law on Special Anti-terrorist Measures as well as Contingency-related Laws have been rammed through the Diet and a “two-party system,” in which two parties compete how far they go in revising the Constitution, is advocated. The politics have thus made a rightward turn towards making again Japan a “country that fights war”.

However, the movement against terrorism and war has spread around the globe. In Japan, the movement against war and for peace has mobilized a large number of citizens, especially the young. In the struggle for a democratic transformation of the politics, there are changes at regional and local levels susceptible of shaking from the bottom the ruling structures in place.

1-9 Regarding the organization building, we were able to maintain ZENROREN’s membership at the level of its founding thanks to the strenuous efforts of our affiliates and union members. However, our membership has decreased by about 50,000 over the last two years and now amounts to only 1.328 million. In order to overcome this situation, a proposal was made to create an “Organizing Campaign Fund” to carry out a large-scale organizing campaign involving ZENROREN, affiliated federations and local organizations. The proposal was adopted by the ZENROREN’s General Council meeting in July 2003 and has been implemented ever since.

Our movement has often faced difficulties, because of the attacks of the government and business circles that try to block the progression of ZENROREN. In spite of this, ZENROREN has been fighting indomitably in all areas including jobs, livelihoods, rights and peace. The last two years have demonstrated that ZENROREN’s militancy is inspiring and encouraging a wide range of people and that they expect ZENROREN to play a more important role in the society.

Part II: Basic Perspective of Our Struggle and Five Priority Goals

1. A crucial political battle in Japan’s postwar history over the Constitution

2-1. Fifteen years have passed since the reorganization of the labor front and Japanese trade union movement has now come to a new turning point, because the attacks of the government and the business circles on workers and the population are intensifying, changing in quantity and quality from those we knew in the past. The next two years will certainly see harsher restructuring measures with layoffs implemented in many workplaces. The enterprises will continue to refuse any wage hike while making profits and increase their offensive on workers by promoting discrimination and division among them through merit-based remuneration system.

In addition, now that for the first time since the end of WWII, the Japanese Self-Defense troops have been sent to Iraq where fighting is still going on, there is going to be an all-out attempt of changing the peaceful Constitution that our country can boast of to the world. There will be also a systematic plunder of wealth from the population through a complete dismantling of the social security system and an increase in consumption tax rate.

2-2. Japanese trade union movement that made a new start after WWII under the Constitution that guarantees the right of workers to live and work in dignity as humans has won higher wages, reduction of working hours and other important gains. Even today, the most important task for ZENROREN as a trade union national center is to fully play its role in the economic battle that consists of wage struggle and the struggle against “corporate streamlining”.

Recently however, the government and the business circles have escalated their offensive on the Constitution by denying this ultimate “resort” for workers’ struggle in everyday life, in workplaces and in the society as a whole. The next two years will therefore be a crucial period in which trade unions will have to fight against the tentative to change the Constitution that aims to give a perilous twist to the course of Japan’s postwar history.

The main aim of the attack on the Constitution is to scrap its article 9 so as to enable Japan to “fight a war” as it did in the past. If such change is made, it will drag Japan into the one-country hegemonic policy of the U.S. to launch “pre-emptive attack against countries of the axis of evil” and isolate our nation in Asia and the rest of the world. When our country is about to commemorate the 60th anniversary of atomic bombing, such a change will also run counter to the world trend towards the elimination of nuclear weapons and creation of nuclear-weapon-free zones.

ZENROREN will take up the task of preventing the constitutional revision as the most important task for the next two years and take the lead of the movement of conscientious progressive forces at national and local levels. In the same time, we will call on people of all political horizons including conservatives to act jointly against the revision of the Constitution and we will play a role worthy of a trade union national center for building a broad national front. In parallel with this, all ZENROREN organizations will endeavor so as to ensure that the Constitution is applied and respected in workplaces and local communities, as well as in the politics and people’s everyday life.

2. For an organizational advance overcoming new challenges

2-3. In the Japanese society where big enterprises closely linked with the government are intensifying their systematic rule in all sectors at all levels, we cannot defeat such a strong domination without strengthening the unity of workers who make up the majority of the population and developing their struggles. As organizational advance of trade unions is the basis of any social battle, building a 2 million-strong ZENROREN with 600 local organizations is a task that is indispensable for achieving the transformation of the Japanese society.

Since the beginning of the 21st century however, ZENROREN’s membership has been in slight decrease. Moreover, the “baby-boomers” who have played a central role in ZENROREN will reach the age of retirement in the next few years. If we do not succeed in organizing new workers in numbers that exceed those of baby-boomer members who are going to retire, organizational setback of ZENROREN will be inevitable. Organizing will therefore be one of our priories in the next two years.

2-4. In the same time, when job insecurity is so wide-spread that even those who are most hardworking can be dismissed or have their wages cut at any time, more and more workers get interested in trade unions and have higher expectations for their struggles. This is evidenced by the fact that the number of calls we receive from workers looking for advices is in sharp increase in many places across the country and about 400 new unions have been created and joined ZENROREN every year for three years in a row.

As new challenges are coming up for the trade union movement, we will call on our affiliated unions and our members to enhance our organizing efforts to be undertaken jointly by ZENROREN, affiliated federations and regional and local union organizations, linking it with the initiatives to create the “Organizing Campaign Fund”.

3. Five priority tasks that will bring us closer to our “Perspective and Objectives”

2-5. ZENROREN has set out the “ Perspectives and Objectives for the 21st Century as mid-term goals to be attained by 2010. They are: (1) establishment of rules that enable workers to work in dignity as humans; (2) establishment of a national minimum, a minimum guarantee for decent living; (3) transformation of the politics into those serving the interests of the population.

What is the most important for ZENROREN in the coming two years until 2006 is to ensure a steady progress towards these mid-term goals. For this, we will give priority in these two years to five tasks among the mid-term goals set out by the “Perspectives and Objectives”. They will be common priority tasks for all the federations, regional and local union organizations affiliated with ZENROREN and intensive struggles shall be carried on to accomplish these tasks.

2-6. On the task concerning peace and democracy, we will strive for: (1) prevention of perilous revision of the Constitution and the participation of Self-defense troops in the multinational forces in Iraq; (2) elimination of nuclear weapons; (3) realization of national and local politics at the service of the population.

On the task of organizing, our concrete aims will be: (1) to succeed in creating the “Organizing Campaign Fund”; (2) to achieve a 2 million strong ZENROREN with 600 local organizations; (3) establishment in every prefecture of permanent workers’ assistance bureau, liaison of part-time and temporary workers’ union, local union and local workers’ mutual.

Concerning the wages, we will work to achieve: (1) improvements in local minimum wages and progress towards the establishment of a national uniform minimum wage; (2) raise of basic wage levels for all workers and correction of all unfair wage disparities including wage gap between men and women; (3) increase in hourly wage and equal treatment for part-time workers.

Regarding the struggle for jobs and rights, we will aim at: (1) establishment of effective CRS (corporate social responsibilities); (2) creation of jobs through elimination of unpaid overtime work and reduction of working hours, better measures for preventing deaths due to overwork and for mental health; (3) progress in JNR and NTT struggles and establishment of the basic labor rights for public servants.

As for the social security and other common concerns of the population, we will demand: (1) establishment of a universal pension system that will guarantee minimum pension of 70,000 yen for everyone; (2) opposition to the dismantling of the social security system and better health and nursing care and social services; (3) to stop an increase in consumption tax rate and correcting the tax system favorable to big enterprises.

Part VII. Exchanges and Solidarity with Trade Unions in the World

1. Promotion of bilateral and multilateral exchanges

7-1. As the gap between the rich and the poor is widening in the context of neo-liberal globalization promoted by multinational corporations for increasing their profits, countries see their economic and political independence threatened while the rights of workers and their unions as well as human rights of the people are trampled upon. On the other hand, in the presidential elections in Brazil and in the national elections in Spain, South Korea and India, leftist forces supported by workers have made significant advances. ZENROREN will strengthen joint actions and cooperation with trade unions of other countries in the struggles against “neo-liberal globalization”, against war and for the elimination of nuclear weapons.

There is a growing concern about the intensification of “uni-polar domination” following the reorganization of the international trade union organizations as seen in the moves towards the “merger” of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) and the World Confederation of Labor (WCL). In this context, we will promote exchanges of views with trade union national centers of different countries and international organizations, regardless of their international affiliation, on how to bring together trade unions in Asia-Pacific region and how to develop their movement.

7-2. We will continue to develop exchanges with foreign trade unions on a bilateral basis mainly in Asian region and in the same time try to establish multilateral relations for common issues as well as exchanges with regional organizations such as the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) and with the international trade union organizations.

Our major multilateral activities for the immediate future will be: (1) participation in the second exchange meeting of U.S., Canada, Mexico and Japan on “organization of non-regular workers in public sector” (September 2004); (2) participation in the 5th World Social Forum (January 2005, Porto Alegre, Brazil), (3) International joint action for the prevention of nuclear war and the elimination of nuclear weapons in the 60th anniversary of atomic bombing (August 2005). Our planned bilateral exchanges include sending a ZENROREN delegation to China and inviting a delegation from and organizing a joint seminar with Vietnam.

2. Establishment of international labor standards and improvements in ZENROREN’s international policy

7-3. Towards the ILO’s “New Declaration” (on the basic principles and rights of labor) and for decent work, we will give priority to: (1) immediate ratification of ILO Conventions yet to be ratified by Japan (Conventions No. 105 and No. 111); (2) full implementation of the ratified Conventions (Conventions No. 87 and No. 98); (3) early ratification of ILO Conventions that contribute to the establishment of working rules (Conventions No. 158 (on dismissals), No. 175 (on part-time work), No. 94 (on official contracts).

The ZENROREN will further elaborate its policies and demands regarding the “structural reform” imposed by the IMF and the World Bank, the question of linkage between international trade and social clauses of international labor standards, the rights of immigrant workers, CSR, activities of multinational and large corporations in and outside Japan and trade union rights.

In order to implement these policies and demands, we will work to be represented in the negotiations with the government and petition and discuss with related government agencies.

7-4. Regarding what we will do when participating in the Annual International Labor Conference, we will develop and elaborate our strategy on the question of nomination of labor representatives, on the agenda and on how we can have our opinions reflected in the discussion. We will coordinate the activities of ZENROREN with those of its affiliated federations and local organizations. We will attach more importance to the following ZENROREN’s international activities: (1) improvements in information to be sent overseas by increasing the contents of our English home page and circulation of information from abroad; (2) improvement in the editing of the annual report “Struggles of Workers’ in the World” and organization of study meetings using it; (3) organization of ZENROREN’s exchange meeting on international activities and study meetings on the ILO; (4) training of activists in charge of international activities.