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Workers with Family Responsibilities Convention, 1981 (No. 156) - Japan (RATIFICATION: 1995)

The Committee notes the observations of the Japanese Trade Union Confederation (JTUC–RENGO) communicated with the Government’s report and received on 13 September 2019. It further notes the observations of the Japan Business Federation (NIPPON KEIDANREN).

Article 4 of the Convention. Transfer to remote places. The Committee previously requested the Government to provide information on the measures taken to monitor effectively transfer practices, including information on the measures taken to supervise the application of section 26 of the Childcare and Family Care Leave Law that requires employers to take into account family responsibilities when reassigning workers to remote places to ease the difficulty for the worker to assume his or her family responsibilities.The Government indicates, in its report, that the Ministry of Health Labour and Welfare (MHLW) established a working group to draft “the Points of Employment Management Concerning Relocation” report in January 2017. This report aims to collect information on the manner in which companies deal with the relocation issues and its impact on the realization of the objective of work-life balance. The Government also indicates that there are no statistical information on practices of relocation disaggregated by sex. However, in 2017, eight requests for assistance over transfers were made based on section 52-4 of the Childcare and Family Care Leave Act, which provides that the Director of the Prefecture Labour Bureau may provide necessary advice or guidance in order to resolve disputes. The Committee recalls that Article 4 of the Convention provides that, all measures compatibles with national conditions and possibilities shall be taken with a view to creating effective equality of opportunity and treatment to enable workers with family responsibilities – men and women - to exercise their right to free choice of employment. Consequently, once again, it wishes to stress the impact of such transfers on employees with family responsibilities, as they can make it difficult for the worker to assume his or her family responsibilities. The Committee asks the Government to indicate the conclusions reached by the above-mentioned working group established by the MHLW and the measures taken following the publication of its report in terms of transfer practices. The Committee also encourages the Government to compile statistical information, disaggregated by sex, on the impact of transfer practices on the needs of workers with family responsibilities and to communicate any studies on the subject.

Article 6. Education on sharing of family responsibilities. Concerning the actions taken to promote greater awareness, public understanding and a climate conducive to overcoming existing difficulties for men and women workers with family responsibilities, including stereotyping with respect to family responsibilities, the Government indicates that the MHLW has prepared a manual for the formulation of "the Support Plan for Return from Childcare Leave" and another manual for the formulation of "Family Care Support Plan”. This is part of a campaign to raise awareness of employers, workers and the public at large on the difficulties encountered by workers with family responsibilities to balance work and life responsibilities to engender a climate of opinion conducive to overcoming these difficulties. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on awareness raising and educational activities taken or envisaged to enable a better understanding of employers and workers, and society in general, of the needs of workers with family responsibilities, both men and women. Please also provide information on any specific activities undertaken toward this end, with the active participation of employers’ and workers’ organizations, and the results achieved in terms of applying the provisions of this Convention, as well as the way workers’ and employers’ organizations are fully integrated into the development, monitoring and updating of work–family balance measures.

Article 8. Termination of employment. The Committee previously requested the Government to provide information on the application in practice of the Childcare and Family Care Leave Act prohibiting dismissal or other disadvantageous treatment that may occur because of change in family responsibilities. The Government indicates that, if the MHLW finds that disadvantageous treatment was applied, strict guidance is provided to correct such a treatment and that, in 2017, the number of workers who consulted the Prefectural Labour Bureaus because of disadvantageous treatment on the ground of pregnancy, childbirth, childcare leave, reached 10,969. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures taken to prevent disadvantageous treatment or termination of employment from occurring on the ground of family responsibilities. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on any cases relating to the dismissal of workers on the ground of family responsibilities disaggregated by sex dealt with by the competent authorities and the related remedies.

The Committee draws the attention of the Government to its general observation adopted in 2019, recalling the relevance, importance and practical usefulness of the principles laid down in the Convention, and its accompanying Recommendation (No. 165), whose aim is to ensure that all workers with family responsibilities – women as well as men – are not disadvantaged in relation to other workers and, in particular, that women with family responsibilities are not disadvantaged in comparison to men with family responsibilities. Recalling the ILO Centenary Declaration for the Future of Work’s aim to achieve gender equality at work through a transformative agenda and stressing the importance of the Convention in achieving this goal, the Committee called for member States, and employers’ and workers’ organizations, to strengthen efforts towards specific goals.