LABOUR IN JAPAN

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22320, 3 May 1947, Page 5

LABOUR IN JAPAN

NO MORE SWEATING GOSPEL OF DEMOCRACY ALLIES HIRE WORKERS (By N.Z.P.A. Representative in Japan.) Since the arrival of the Allied occupation troops in Japan, and the spreading of the gospel of democracy, the Japanese workers now have as. their right for the first time in all their sweated labour history to work only 40 hours a week. Democracy has been presented to the Japanese in a number of ways, and one of the most effective was a drawing published in an influential Japanese Daily newspaper and distributed to the Japanese people to illustrate the changes to be brought by the introduction of democracy to the new Constitution. In the old way, with height representing their social positions, the Emperor is drawn in morning coat and striped trousers and wearing spectacles, and is head and shoulders above his neighbour, a peer, who is dressed similarly but without spectacles. Next to the peer is the worker or man, of considerably less stature, who towei-s above the woman who is just about the lowest form of human life in the eyes of the Japanese male. The new way shows each figure the same size and on an equal plane, thus conveying to the Japanese male mind, however, much it might hurt, that each person in the community is as important as the other as democratic eyes see them. Revolutionary Changes To the Japanese who work for the occupation forces democracy has been a great boon, and their conditions arc revolutionary in comparison with those they slaved under in pre-war years. The occupation forces employ many hundreds of thousands of Japanese workers, male and female. For the month of February last the New Zealand Brigade alone employed more than 15,000 permanent workers for one week, and more than 12,000 casual labourers for the same week. They were distributed over a total of 90 different jobs. The permanent class of worker remains with the employing units as long as their services are required, and all permanent housegirls, waiters, waitresses, cooks and office workers undergo a strict medical examination before they are accepted. The casuals are used only on work of a non-permanent nature. To hire labour, units submit daily demands for their requirements to the Area Labour Office, which notifies the local Japanese Labour Office, whose duty it is to supply all the labour requisitioned. In some areas this. is very difficult because the requisitions frequently exceed the local supply. Tho latest system which the Japanese Labour Office employs to obtain labour provides for a division of a town into federations, sub-divided into blocks. Tho federation chiefs are notified of the number of workers required, and they pass tho responsibility to obtain it to the respective block chiefs who canvass their own areas asking for volunteers. Not Compelled to Serve Forces No Japanese can be forced in any way to work for the occupation forces be they American, British, Australian, New Zealand or Indian, and there is no compulsion whatever to secure the desired quota. Permanent employees work five days a week, eight hours a day. Casual employees work eight hours a day for as many days as they arc required. Provision for overtime has been made at the rate of one and one-half times the hourly rate of pay which, for permanent workers, is on a monthly basis. For every day’s non-attendance (he monthly rate is reduced by one-twentieth. . Casual workers are paid on a daily rate and receive pay only for the days they actually work. They are paid twice a month.