Japan labor leader vows to fight for stable, better work
ABC News
The head of Japan's largest labor federation says stable work must be the top priority after the pandemic, which has hit women and other vulnerable groups the hardest
TOKYO -- The head of Japan’s largest labor federation says she is determined to listen to the voices of all workers in fighting for better wages and conditions.
Tomoko Yoshino is the first woman to head Rengo, the Japanese Trade Union Confederation.
In an interview Thursday with The Associated Press, she said stable work has to be the top priority after the pandemic, which hit women and other vulnerable groups the hardest, in Japan and elsewhere.
Japanese unions traditionally have mostly just represented “regular workers,” or people employed in full-time permanent jobs. Rengo has stepped up efforts to encourage labor organizing among “non-regular” workers, such as those on temporary contracts, part-timers and freelancers, a large share of whom are women.
