100-hour overtime a month is not acceptable!

On March 13, 2017, the Japanese Government, Keidanren (Japan Business Federation) and Rengo (Japanese Trade Union Confederation) agreed to limit monthly overtime work to 100 hours. In response to the agreement, an emergency meeting was held on March 15, organized by the Japan Federation of Bar Associations, Diet members and bereaved family members of karoshi (death from overwork) victims, and joined by 200. Teranishi Emiko, the leader of the Families Dealing with Karoshi, read a message from TAKAHASHI Yukimi whose daughter committed suicide after working for excessively long hours, “Human beings are not computers or robots. I strongly oppose 100-hour overtime a month”. A bereaved family from Kyoto said, “My husband was healthy but lost his life at the age of 40 after working overtime for 80 hours a month. 100-hour overtime a month is never acceptable”. KIRIKI Hiroko, from Miyazaki, Kyushu, lost her 23-year old son. He committed suicide as a result of excessive overwork. She strongly appealed, “I am really sad that suicide was the only way for him to escape from work. Is this right? It is a ‘murder’ to force deadly volume of work”. SUZUKI Tsuyoshi, the Secretary General of Japan Community Union Federation, affiliated with Rengo, strongly criticized the confederation that agreed with the government and the management over regulations on the limit of monthly overtime, saying, “I am hated in Rengo, but does it deserve to be a union without supporting karoshi-bereaved families?” Nine opposition Diet members swore that they block the bill to limit monthly overtime work to 100 hours from being passed at the Diet session. (M)  Photo flash and video (9 minutes 46 seconds)

残業100時間「労使合意」を許さない！～過労死遺族が怒りの訴え

3月13日、政府・経団連・連合のトップが「月残業 100時間規制」で合意した。これを受けて、15日、日弁連・国会議員・過労死遺族などによる院内集会が緊急に開かれた。集会で は、6人の遺族が登壇し必死の訴えをした。過労死家族の会代表の寺西笑子さんは、電通で娘を失った母親・高橋幸美さんの「人間はコンピューターでもロボットでもない。月100時間残業を認めることに強く反対します」というメッセージを読み上げた。京都の遺族は「健康な夫が40歳で倒れた。夫は月80時間の残業だったが80時間で人は死ぬ。100時間を認めてはいけない」。宮崎からやってきた桐木弘子さん（写真）は、23歳の息子を過労自死で失った。「仕事から逃れる方法が自殺しかなかったことが悔しい。それでいいのか。死に至る残業を押しつけることは“殺人”だ」と強く訴えた。労使合意した連合加盟の全国ユニオン・鈴木剛会長が挨拶。「私は連合で嫌われているが、過労死遺族に寄り添わなくてなにが組合か？」と連合のあり方を痛烈に批判した。集会には約200人が集まった。野党議員も9人登壇し、「100時間規制の法案」を許さず国会でたたかうと決意を述べた。（M） 写真速報・動画（9分46 秒）

“No More Karoshi! Ryu Foundation” award ceremony – With 130 people

The “No More Karoshi! Ryu Foundation” held the 4th Ceremony of the Nakajima Tomio Award in Katsushika Ward, Tokyo on August 1, 2010. The foundation gave the Nakajima Award of this year to Teranishi Emiko, who filed suit against the Japanese government for the disclosure of names of companies whose employees have died from overwork (President of the National Association for Bereaved Families of Karoshi Victims, center in the photo. Karoshi: Death from overwork). The venue was filled with 130 people partly thanks to a commemorative speech by Utsunomiya Kenji, the president of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations and the Anti-Poverty Campaign. Before the start of the award ceremony, all the participants offered a silent prayer to the photos of Nakajima Tomio, who was husband of Nakajima Haruka (right in the photo of this report), the president of the Ryu Foundation, and died from karoshi in 2004 when he was a store manager of Skylark, a family restaurant chain, and of Maesawa Takayuki, who was a son of Maesawa Emiko (left), the vice president of the foundation, and also died from karoshi in 2007 when he was a contract store manager of the same restaurant chain. (Suda Mitsuteru)
「過労死をなくそう！龍基金」授賞式を開催～130人が集う
「過労死をなくそう！龍基金」は8月1日、第4回中島富雄賞授賞式を東京・葛飾で開催し、過労死を出した企業名の公表を求めて国を提訴した原告の寺西笑子さん（全国過労死を考える家族の会代表・写真中央）を今年の中島賞の受賞者として表彰しました。日本弁護士連合会の会長で反貧困ネットワーク代表である宇都宮健児弁護士の記念講演もあり、会場には満員の130人が集まりました。授賞式の冒頭、龍基金の代表である中島晴香さん（右）の夫で、すかいらーくの店長として2004年に過労死で亡くなった中島富雄さんと、副代表の前澤笑美子さん（左）の長男で、すかいらーくの契約店長として2007年に過労死で亡くなった前澤隆之さんの遺影に向かって参加者全員で黙とうをささげました。（須田光照）