Article 8

Modified points from the initial report are as follows:

(1)	Guarantee of the right to form and join labour unions
	The number of labour unions and their members by industry in Japan are as indicated in Table 10.

Table 10. Number of Labour Unions and Their Members by Industry

As of the end of June 1996

Industry	Number of labour unions	Members of labour unions(persons)
Total	70,699	12,451,149
Agriculture	52	1,770
Forestry	787	22,665
Fisheries	50	6,231
Mining	156	13,192
Construction	3,403	1,081,664
Manufacturing	17,052	3,821,369
Electricity/Gas/Heat Supply/Water	1,604	229,397
Transport/Communication	13,576	1,607,159
Wholesaler/Retail/Trade/ Eating and Drinking Places	7,796	1,137,681
Finance/Insurance	5,093	1,088,290
Real estate	214	17,438
Services	14,790	1,926,833
Government	5,699	1,331,120
Industries not adequately classified	427	46,443

Note 1:	Based on the "Basic Survey on Labour Unions" by the Ministry of Labour.
Note 2:	"Industries not adequately classified" includes labour unions which are organized by employees from multiple industries and labour unions whose industrial classification is unknown.
Note 3:	Members of labour unions for total include non-independent labour union members.

(2) Privatization of the Japan Monopoly Sales Corporation

On April 1, 1985, the Government enacted the law that privatized the Japan Monopoly Sales Corporation as Japan Tobacco, Inc., thereby excluding it from the range of application of the Public Corporation and National Enterprise Labour Relations Law. Instead, the Trade Union Law applies to the employees of Japan Tobacco, Inc., in the same way as it does to general private-sector employees.

(3) Privatization of the Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation

On April 1, 1985, the Government enacted the law that privatized the Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation as the Nippon Telegraph and Telephone, Inc., thereby excluding it from the range of application of the Public Corporation and National Enterprise Labour Relations Law. The Trade Union Law applies to the employees of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone, Inc., in the same way as it does to general private- sector employees.

(4) Privatization of Japan National Railway

On April 1, 1987, the Government enacted the law that privatized the Japan National Railway, thereby excluding it from the range of application of the Public Corporation and National Enterprise Labour Relations Law. Since there are no more public corporations in Japan, the Government changed the name of "Public Corporation and National Enterprise Labour Relations Law" to "National Corporation Labour Relations Law" at the time of privatization. As a result, the Trade Union Law applies to the employees of Japan National Railway in the same way as it does to general private-sector employees after its privatization.

Back to Index

(2)	Privatization of the Japan Monopoly Sales Corporation
	On April 1, 1985, the Government enacted the law that privatized the Japan Monopoly Sales Corporation as Japan Tobacco, Inc., thereby excluding it from the range of application of the Public Corporation and National Enterprise Labour Relations Law. Instead, the Trade Union Law applies to the employees of Japan Tobacco, Inc., in the same way as it does to general private-sector employees.
(3)	Privatization of the Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation
	On April 1, 1985, the Government enacted the law that privatized the Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation as the Nippon Telegraph and Telephone, Inc., thereby excluding it from the range of application of the Public Corporation and National Enterprise Labour Relations Law. The Trade Union Law applies to the employees of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone, Inc., in the same way as it does to general private- sector employees.
(4)	Privatization of Japan National Railway
	On April 1, 1987, the Government enacted the law that privatized the Japan National Railway, thereby excluding it from the range of application of the Public Corporation and National Enterprise Labour Relations Law. Since there are no more public corporations in Japan, the Government changed the name of "Public Corporation and National Enterprise Labour Relations Law" to "National Corporation Labour Relations Law" at the time of privatization. As a result, the Trade Union Law applies to the employees of Japan National Railway in the same way as it does to general private-sector employees after its privatization.