From the article of 'Petrel'
No.609 / December 8, 1996
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The raising angry to the wage-basis freezing
The "Administrative Reformation" attack is starting
The laborers of the Kyoto-city Employee Union stood up for the counterattack.
The fiscal deficit becomes a serious problem in many local governments similar to the national finance. Therefore, the attack to the workers who work in the municipality becomes strong, on the other hand, the repulsion of the workers to this also becomes strong. While authorities had shown the movement of the wage-basis freezing in the Kyoto-city, the labor union repulsing to it organized a strike for the first time in tens of years (a meeting of 29 minute within the time). Though it was still small scale compared with the fight of the European civil servant workers and the content of the fight was also far from the decisive class struggle, it showed that the attack by the authorities raises the repulsion of the workers inevitably on the other hand.
<> The mayor's salary is being improved for as many as 90 thousands yen, they are compelling the workers the wage-basis freezing.
In the Kyoto-city, the negotiation is done first on the stage of the city labor union league organized with the both City Employee Union of the Local Government Labor Union and the Local Government Labor Union League, the Traffic Labor Union, the Water Service Labor Union, and the School Employee Union, and the like, moves to the negotiation of a single union afterwards, the city authorities have told "the Postpone of the salary revision" in the scene of the first negotiation with the City Labor Union League because of the fiscal deficit. The freezing of the recommendation by the personnel committee, "zero answers," is done for the first time in 14 years, after being done simultaneously throughout the country at Nakasone Cabinet of hoisting of "Administrative Reformation."
Though the personnel committee recommendation was done in the content of the raising wages of 0.97% (3,962 yen on average) going back to April, the authorities insistence was "there is no sleeve to swing" because they were expecting the deficit of 3 trillions yen in the general accounts (by the end of the current year), owing to that the Kyoto city finances hold the great deficit accompanied by the subway construction and to the depress of revenue by the collapse of the bubble.
However, the raise of the consumption tax rate by 2% was scheduled next May and when the real wages became reduced even in the complete execution of the personnel committee recommendation, so the zero answer was an unexpected story. Moreover, the wages of the special employees such as mayor were improved near to 7% on average, it becomes 90 thousands yen a month in the case of mayor, in the city assembly on this July. The person gaining the high pay should reduce own pay and abolish all the preferential treatment such as the allowance to the special position and the administrative position first if it is in a financial crisis, they did not touch their privileges at all, and more over, they expanded it and pressed all load to the workers, so it was natural the whirl of angry raised to the attitude.
<> Dissatisfaction has come out one after another in the office.
It was neither from the handbills nor from the information of the union that the workers in the office had known the news of the leave-over of the personnel committee recommendation.
Most people knew it by muss communication because such as the television and the newspaper had reported by the measures of authorities to the mass communication, to form the public opinion of "freezing of the personnel committee recommendation" by using the citizens' antipathies to the civil servant or to make the existing fact of "freezing of the personnel committee recommendation" by reporting like the decision though still being negotiated.
"Why did not the union report such an important thing?" "Do they not send an office organizer though it is reported as if 'freezing of the personnel committee recommendation' was decided?" "If the salary do not rise, I will not pay the union expense." The dissatisfied voice to the union director was filled to overflowing in the office.
The union set one hour strike on the background of such situation and negotiated repeatedly every day. And though the answer was such, "We do our best to bring close to the execution time of the recommendation as much as possible in consideration of the moral of the employee. However, we cannot know from when we can execute, they made the tactics down from one hour strike to 29 minutes meeting within the time because it was not the zero answer.
However, because the strike as the City Labor Union League was the first thing excluding the confusion period in the postwar days, it was taken up also by the mass communication.
Though there were the organizations that had strike in some single labor union, it was fairly old time story and there was not the meeting in the time at all, someone began to speak "Do we not become to be disposed?" in the workers. However, many voices seem to be such as following. "The union directors have to hold out more with the resolution of disposal." "The mayor raised only his salary. Does he make a fool of us?"
<> Though they say "We chose real achievement rather than empty reputation"
The activity that the union planned was almost the same and scheduled struggle as the ordinary year in spite of the situation of the personnel recommendation freezing and the tension feeling was not seen too much. However, on the other side, there was heat more than the ordinary year in the reaction of the union member, and the union members more than that of usual age seemed to gather to the rally in front of the city office opened after work hour.
As for the negotiation, it shifted from the City Labor Union League to the single unions with the execution time of the salary revision being undecided. The final negotiation result was that, the salary revision will be executed from August, however the promotion will be shortened three months for all to supplement the loss compared with execution in April, and 50,000 yen can be loaned to the applicant. And, it is said that it was the conclusion as an off-the-record promise after this "However."
The city authorities were demanding the increase of the subsidy to the government to supplement the deficit of such as subway, and for that, they wanted the shape that the city is cutting the employee's salary, so it is said to be a fruit to delay the revision time. On the other hand, the union side is boasting "We chose real achievement rather than empty reputation" because they promised the promotion shortening in the off-the-record part in spite of the delay of the revision time. That is, they saved both face and the compromise was reached.
However, such correspondence of the union is in the kind of one that every content is good as long as money getting on the hand is secured, and it looks somewhere as what Kaoru Ota said, "1000 yen is 1000 yen even if it is dirty 1000 yen." Moreover, in the point of the concealed wage-base raising, it is same as the method that has been adopted by some right-wing labor unions such as the Japanese Federation of Iron & Steel Workers' Unions to reduce the entire pay market price. Actually, it is reported that there is some managing staff who speaks, seeing the movement of the personnel recommendation freezing in the Kyoto-city at this time, "Should not the execution postpone of the Personnel Committee recommendation be examined like the Kyoto-city?" in such as Osaka Pref. in which authorities are worried similarly about the fiscal deficit. ('The Asahi News Paper' on November 27) Moreover, it is advantageous as much the staff with as a large difference between the following grade in the promotion shortening, and to say generally, the so-called elite staffs who move to the following grade in the place where the difference between the grades is large are given most preferential treatment and merit is as little as in the so-called "Reach the ceiling" staff (the regular government service member of the advanced age) who cannot move to the following grade easily.
<> The Cleaning Branch of the Local Government Labor Union did the strikebreaking.
Though the struggle in this time was worked as the City Labor Union League, in the work
of the single union, "the Kyoto-city Labor Union" that is in the group of the Communist Party scattered civicism and the civil servant-servant theory as usual, and it can be said that they played the role to cloud the workers' class consideration.
They took out such reason as it was necessary the suitable pay to work for the citizens well and therefore the wages should be raised, and insisted not to work as workers' class fight but to work as a civil servant who serves to the citizens also on the wage raising struggle. And, though they mentioned "for the citizens" on the one hand they admit "the concealed wage-base raising" that cannot be made public on the other hand, and are not feeling contradictions.
If it is actually the necessary pay, would they not demand openly and is it not good only to deepen the class unity so that the private workers also win the same pay by mutual cooperation, is not it strange to tell the result by off the record something stealthily?
They are completely insensitive in this thing.
Moreover, the characteristic of the City Employee Labor Union of the Local Government Labor Union was to have done the virtual strikebreaking by the Cleaning Branch.
The City Employee Labor Union of the Local Government Labor Union League and the City Employee Labor Union of the Local Government Labor Union also arranged the maintenance personnel in such as the window office because they had not to give trouble to the citizens though they would do strike, and because it would give too big influence to the citizens' lives, they had installed the "Excluded Office." It was usual that the site section of the cleaning was made such "Excluded Office" --- They say the strike overflowing and accumulating garbage has not to be done as foreign countries. ---
However, at this time, they made it to "Excluded office" in not only the site section as up to now but even also the clerical work section =, that is, the desk work of such as the head agency, and they had prevented all section from striking as the Cleaning Branch.
Is not this really strikebreaking? I have never heard before that hole one branch did not participate in the strike. Our companions in the Cleaning Branch heard this policy in the day before strike and protested decisively with the office companions, but consequently there was no time to change the movement as the Branch, and so they participated individually in the shop floor meeting without the branch flag.
Though the authorities have put out the problem of privatization of the cleaning business in the definite struggle of this year, the movement of this Cleaning Branch of the Local Government Labor Union was having corresponded to it. I heard that the branch secretary-general gave "It is necessary to defend employing" as one of the reasons not striking. They are deprived of the employment by privatization if they strike and strengthen the confrontation posture with the authorities. Therefore, he virtually said that it was a road to defend employment prostrating themselves before the authorities and even behaving as an obedient employee. This might clearly be the logic of strikebreaking. Betraying the companion and do only they receive the spill?
This secretary-general might insist on "It is important to propose the policy," this is also to have said many times up to now by the bourgeois union ideologist. The insistence, proposing of the policy and advancing work with the authorities is to lead to the defense of employment and the stability of life, is openly described as a reason for strikebreaking. We decisively indict such betrayals.
The managing staff fellows of the union are rotting in the Local Government Labor Union League and in the Local Government Labor Union also.
However, the workers will not satisfying indefinitely with their rule.
(A municipality worker, H)