Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2023, published 112nd ILC session (2024)

Employment Service Convention, 1948 (No. 88) - Japan (Ratification: 1953)

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The Committee notes the observations of the Japanese Trade Union Confederation (JTUC–RENGO) as well as of National Confederation of Trade Unions (ZENROREN) communicated with the Government’s report. The Committee requests the Government to provide its comments in this regard.

Articles 1, 2, 3 and 11 of the Convention. Contribution of the employment service to employment promotion. The Committee notes the Government’s update on legislative and other initiatives implemented during the reporting period and on the number of the entities forming the public employment service (PES) in May 2023. Public Employment Security Offices were present in 436 locations, two of which are dedicated to day laborers; Public Employment Security Branch Offices were present in 95 locations, four of which are dedicated to day laborers, and Public Employment Security Branch Stations were present in 13 locations. The Government reports that in 2022, this nationwide network of PES offices and the independently implemented employment measures of local governments, which also offer free employment placement services, assisted 2,819,752 jobseekers and mediated 652,431 into employment; in January 2023, 262,643 received assistance, resulting in 42,931 employment placements. The Committee notes the observations of JTUC–RENGO, emphasizing the need to improve the cooperation of the Public Employment Security Office and local governments, as well as other organizations to enable foreigners in Japan and abroad to find employment and improve their integration into the community. The Committee also notes that in reply to its questions, the Government, while describing the relationship between the PES and private placement businesses as non-exclusive, indicated that as part of the Hello Work programme, PES widely provides information to its private partners and also directs jobseekers to those partners. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the legislative measures and initiatives implemented and the impact and effectiveness of those. It requests the Government to provide more detailed information on the manner in which the synergies between the PES and the private employment agencies are ensured. It also requests the Government to continue to provide information on the number of: public employment offices established, employment applications received, vacancies notified and persons placed in employment by the PES, disaggregated by central and local levels. Lastly, in light of the observations made by JTUC-RENGO, the Committee requests the Government to provide information with respect to the type and scope of employment services provided to migrant workers.

Articles 4 and 5. Participation of the social partners. The Government indicates that the deliberations of the Employment Security Division of the Labour Policy Council, composed of workers and employers from the public sector addresses, inter alia, job placement and vocational guidance, promoting reemployment particularly for older persons, regional employment development, and labour and demand systems in the private sector. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the contributions made by the social partners within the Labour Policy Council or any other tripartite body, including at the local government level, in the organization and operation of the PES and the development of employment service policies.

Article 7(b). Measures to meet the needs of particular categories of applicants for employment. The Committee notes that in reply to its previous request, the Government describes measures targeting former nursing and care workers, as well as mothers. It also elaborates on the proposed legislative measures considered by the Subcommittee on Employment of Persons with Disabilities of the Labour Policy Council and the measures focusing on persons with disabilities, including workers with mental disabilities. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information concerning the arrangements made to give effect to this Article, including the occupations, industries and special categories of jobseekers for which special arrangements have been made.

Article 9. Staff of the PES. The Committee notes the observations of ZENROREN, deploring lay-offs of permanent employees and their replacement with non-permanent workers. In April 2023, there were 20,123 non-permanent employees, while there was a decrease in permanent workers from 1968 to 2023, falling from 14,606 to 10,219 officials in April 2023 – a level significantly lower than in other industrialized countries. According to ZENROREN, the fluctuation of non-permanent staff, who are employed for between one and three years, negatively affects their training and therefore reduces institutional memory and the quality of services they provide. ZENROREN claims that negotiations in this respect with the Government were unsuccessful, and calls for more permanent employment in the PES. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information concerning the status and conditions of service of the employment services staff, and general information concerning the methods of recruitment and selection of this staff. Furthermore, it requests the Government to indicate the arrangements made to ensure the training of employment service staff for the performance of their duties, including: (a) arrangements for their initial training at the time of appointment to the service; and (b) arrangements for subsequent training.