Labor Policy

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Labor Policy

• Keiichiro HAMAGUCHI

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Chapter 4

• Gender Policy

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Section 1

• Equal Opportunity for Men and Women

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(1) Protection of women workers

• 1911 Factory Law set limit for women at 12 hours
  and banned night work.
• ILO Convention No.4 on Night Work of Women
  adopted in 1919.
• 1947 Labor Standards Law limited overtime by
  women (2 hours per day, 6 hours per week, 150
  hours per year) and banned night work.
• 1978 Study Group on Labor Standards Law report
  advocated abolition of women protection because
  of discriminatory impact.

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• Trade unions opposed removal of women protection.
• 1985 revised LSL maintained protection for
  industrial firms, modified (24 hours per month,
  150 hours per year) for non-industrial firms.
• 1997 revised LSL abolished women protection
  except for maternity protection.
• 1990 ILO Convention No.171 on Night Work applied
  both sex and required health check.
• 2006 revised LSL will remove ban on underground
  work.

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(2) Protection of maternity

• 1911 Factory Law banned work within 5 weeks after
  childbirth.
• 1923 revised FL extended it to 4 weeks before
  childbirth and 6 weeks after childbirth.
• 1926 revised FL banned dismissals during these
  periods.
• 1919 ILO Convention No.3
• 1947 Labor Standards Law extended the periods to
  6 weeks before and after childbirth.

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(3) Equal opportunity and treatment in employment
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Equal wages for men and women

• 1947 LSL banned wage discrimination based on sex
  (Article 4).
• Japan ratified ILO Convention No.100 on Equal
  Remuneration for Men and Women Workers for Work
  of Equal Value in 1967.
• This did not prevent any discriminatory treatment
  against women, as well as wage gap caused by
  discriminatory human resource management.

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(b) 1985 Endeavor obligation law

• UN adopted Declaration on the Elimination of All
  Forms of Discrimination against Women in 1967.
• UN adopted Convention on the Elimination of All
  Forms of Discrimination against Women in 1979.
• 1978 Study Group on Labor Standards Law report
  advocated establishment of anti-discrimination
  legislation.
• Employers opposed introduction of equal
  opportunity and treatment.
• 1985 Equal Employment Opportunity Law required
  endeavor to provide equal opportunity, only
  banned discrimination in retirement and
  dismissal.

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(c) 1997 Legal obligation law

• 1985 endeavor obligation law had a few legal
  effects but vast social impact on human resource
  management.
• 1997 revised EEOL banned any discrimination
  against women in recruitment, hiring, assignment
  and promotion.
• It allowed positive actions (setting quota to
  rectify unequal situation).
• It required employers to prevent sexual
  harassment.

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(d) 2006 revision

• 2004 Study Group on Equal Employment Opportunity
  Policy report focused on indirect discrimination
  and discrimination based on pregnancy.
• Labor Policy Council discussed the issues.
• 2006 revised EEOL ban indirect discrimination on
  specific areas (height requirement, transfer
  requirement and transfer experience, excluding
  part-time work).