Japan 3: Japanese workers face the 'unification' threat

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In the third article of his series on Japan, Bill Peters describes the employers' latest moves to stifle militant trade unionism and the workers' fightback.

Osaka: "Once a union is established, militants from the area hold factory every lunch time demanding recognition... THE phenomenal growth rates of the Japanese economy of the years from 1955 to 1970 of over 10% in real terms (easily the highest in the world), come to an abrupt end with the oil crisis of 1973. Average annual growth rate dropped to 4%.

The Japanese economy began to be more affected by the general conditions of crisis in the world capitalist economy. It prompted the employers to begin new drives to increase productivity and efficiency.

Despite the already high levels of exploitation, they were very successful. Many productive industries substantially reduced the labour force while at the same time substantially increasing , output. Car manufacture is an example.

This was partly due to new technology but also to a sharp increase in the rate of exploitation of the workThe Japanese employers managed despite growing redundancies and closures (particularly in the latter part of the 1970s), to retain their hold over the trade union movement. Average wage increases in the 1970s were less than 2%.

Militancy was mostly in the public sector where the Sohyo class struggle line had its strongest effect. An example was the 1975 strike on the Japanese National Railway (JNR). which opposed a management productivity drive and demanded the right to strike.

Another phenomenon in the 1970s was the beginnings of a fight back by progressive unions in a number of industries. Progressive unions split by the employers refused to fade away as they had in the 1960s and began to fight back.

This produced an important tactic of Japanese militants which is to support the growth of such unions against the yellow unions controlled by the employers.

It should be explained that, incredibly, there are 34,163 unions (covering 12 million organised workers) in Japan. This amazing figure results from the individual enterprise or individual plant unions which are unique to Japan.

In most cases a union comprises both manual and clerical workers.: Such By rights are held with the individual enterprise unions. The various Federations will set guidelines, dates and targets - such as the Shunto - but the negotiating is carried out by the union in the plant or workplace.

This structure has facilitated another signifJapanese trade unions -the development of small (mostly Sohyo) unions in small and medium enterprises. Management in such workplaces were not so organised and sophisticated and new unions could make headway.

Occupied

I was able to visit an occupied plant in Yokohama (an industrial city in the Tokyo region) of Toshiba Ampex - a plant which manufactured video equipment - and which is an example of this process carries all the problems of even in a small plant of a worker cooperatives, it multi-national.

The plant had been occu- act of defiance against the pied since it was closed in tactics of the employers. October last year.

At the time of closure the 400 workers were divided deal progressive trade between a yellow union and unionism. an independent Sohyo union - not a usual. situation in Japan. The yellow union accepted the closure inside the machine shed of meakly but the Sohyo the occupied Tenaka union with its 100 members machinery works. Rodo occupied and began courageous fight against left grouping within the the closure. progressive trade union Another example I was movement in Japan). able to visit is the occupation and work-in at Tanaka Machinery in south Osaka.

(Osaka is the second city difficult conditions of Japan, 300 miles southeast of Tokyo. South Osaka is an industrial area which is an important centre of militancy for the progressive unions in Japan).

This is a remarkable work-in which has continued for five years since the plant was occupied in 1978.

The plant is maintained and defended and 100 skilled workers manufacture and market industrial equipment.

45 seats.

The closure itself was a part of the anti-union drive of the employers.

During the 1970s the factory had been the main unions in the small and power base of progressive trade unionism in the south Osaka region, through the factories • where the union in the factory affiliated to Sohyo: ticated and organised.

For years the employers used every method against them including gangsters.

Eventually they created a false bankruptcy. The Mitsubishi bank withdrew finance and Nippon demanding recognition. Steel - the factory's main customer - withdrew its orders. The Company declared liquidation and the workers took over.

(Now the whole operation is run by the works committee from the union office and potential customers are interviewed under portraits of Lenin and trade unionism in Japan. Mao).

Whilst work-in demonstrations outside the behalf of the employers, of 'unification of the represents an important Federations" - merging all trade union federations in Japan into one Even more it is a beacon Federation covering the and organiser of indepen- whole trade union movement.

The left is correctly (For example the 2,000 mounting a major camstrong 1979 annual confer- paign against this move, ence of Rodo Joho was held since the effect of it would be to virtually eliminate Sohyo as the only major progressive trade union Joho is the most important federation in Japan.

Tactic The struggle of militant The moves are very adtrade union activists in vanced. The tactic of the south Osaka, given the right wing is to begin by unifying the unions in the Japan, are very impressive. private export-based indusThe Liberal Democrat ic Party has 300 Diet seats. The Japanese S ocialist Party (JSP) is the largest opposition party with 100 Diet seats resulting from te in million votes and is therefore not a serious contender for power in the current situation. The Democratic Socialist Party, affiliated to Domei - an extreme right wing split from th le JSP has 35 seats. The votes and has 30 sea its. The Komei Party (Buddhist-based on "c lean government") has They work to establish tries and to move on as quickly as possible to cover medium sized non-aligned the public sector as well.

It would not just create employers are less sophis- one huge trade union federation, but one which Once a union is estab- was entirely dominated lished, militants from the by the overall class collabarea including Tenaka orationist strategic line of Machinery, hold demon- the Domei and IMF-JC strations outside the factory every lunch time, Generally speaking, of course, trade union unity is All this however takes a very good thing. In place within a rightward Britain the fragmentation moving political situation of the unions in some and a major part of the industries is a major prob-. response of Japanese lem. capital to the economic But in the Japanese crisis is a move _ through context the success of these the right wing and yellow moves would be a major unions _ to deal a very blow to trade unionism serious blow to progressive with an independent class struggle line.

This is a policy, promo- • The most important ted by the right wing, on proponents of this 'unifcation" of course are precisely the IMF-JC unions, who echo the policy of the most powerful sections of employers: they include the reactionary 600,000 member Federation of Auto Workers Unions; the Federation of Electrical Workers Unions; the Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions; and the Federation of Iron and Steel Workers Unions (Tekko Roren).

The strategic importance of these unions to the Japanese economy should be noted.

They speak directly for Japanese big capital, anne Nakamura Takuhiko chairman of Tekko Roren outlined the objectives of the vans canoe as follows:

Marxist influence and concept ..from the Japanese Socialist Party [which is allied with Sohyo] and turning the party into the Japanese counterpart of the German Social Democratic Party;

2] promotion of nuclear powel save the nation's energy crisis.

3] abandonment of the struggle against rationalisation and the "Industrial transformation" programme. (The government's plan to move industries overseas.

Jap ese National Kalwavs and other unprofitable public comoranon: through administrative reforms [i.e redundancies].

from Asia Quarterly Review This is more significant since Tekko Roren is ' a right wing union within Sohyo.

Disastrously the top leaders of Sohyo argue in favour of the 'unification" although some Japanese Communist party influenced unions within it argue strongly against and say they will not join the 'unification" if it got. ahead with Sohyo in it.

This drive for even more direct „ove Japanese trade • union movement is but one aspect of the right wing trajectory of the Japanese political situation under the pressure of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) which has held power for 28 consecutive years.

The LDP, close alliance with the multinationals and every level of Japanese bourgeois society pursues its political objectives with equal vigour.

The new Nakasone cabinet is setting out to build Japan into a more independent imperialist country in direct contradction to the Japanese constitution, which outlaws any military force.

Japan already has the seventh largest military force in the world.

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icant and progressive development with the

JCP, with 400,000 mer nbers, gets four million