On Oct. 12,
Labornet TV sent a special program, "What's behind cheap laundry business?”
Laundry business is said to be one of
industries filled with corporate malpractices. The term generally carries connotation of being a sweatshop, and
such companies resort to exploiting young staff and part-timers by forcing them
to work excessively long hours without overtime pay. This year, unions were
formed at one company after another. The workers from three companies, Royal
Net, Global Company and Kagaya Shoukai appeared on Labornet TV and talked about
their longstanding struggles and their delight to be a union member.
Every year, in the factories of Global
Company, quite a lot of workers suffered a heat stroke where the working
condition was like "a burning hell," with the temperature hovering as
much as 48 degrees Celsius. This horrific working environment urged the
employees to form a union. On July 26, they successfully unionized and demanded
that the company that it install cooling measures among other issues.
Thanks to the newly born union, the workers were
able to get some result from collective bargaining. The union members now have
a say, got paid overtime, can take a break, and have paid vacation, and social
insurance.
These ordinary practices that they had never
had before came finally into reality.
SUZUKI Kazuyuki, the owner of the laundry
company, said emphatically, "We need a labor union in this business by all
means because rough competitive environment leads to deteriorating the quality of
services, and also it brings adverse effects on consumers."
IBUSUKI Shoichi, a lawyer and commentator on
the program, got the heart of the problem of Japan's trainee system for young
foreigners, which is widely perceived little more than a cheap labor to
compensate for labor shortage at factories and on farms. (Labornet TV project )
やっぱり「希望はユニオン！」～レイ バーネットTVでクリーニング特集
10月12日のレイバーネットTVは特集「格安クリーニ ングの裏側～灼熱地獄からのたたかい」を放送した。業界自体が ブラックといわれるクリーニング業界で、ことし組合結成が相次 いだ。番組には、ロイヤルネット・グローバル社・加賀屋商会の3 つの職場の労働者が出演した。グローバル社の工場は48度の「灼 熱地獄」で、毎年熱中症で倒れる人が続出した。そんな中で7月26 日に組合をつくり「冷房対策」を求め一定の成果を上げた。成果 はほかにも「意見が言えるようになった」「残業代がでた」「休 憩時間がとれた」「有給がとれた」「社会保険に入れた」など、 あたりまえのことが組合ができてやっと実現したのだ。経営者の 鈴木和幸さんも、「この業界に労働組合が必要。苛酷な労働環境 は結局品質低下を招き、消費者にも迷惑をかけている」と強調し た。番組のコメンテーターは指宿昭一弁護士で、「外国人技能実 習生問題」にもズバリ斬り込んだ。（レイバーネットTVプロジェ クト）
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