Osaka Minato Godo Shoichi Metals Branch Strike For Wages & Palestinians & Rally In Tokyo

Osaka Minato Godo Shoichi Metals Branch workers went on a strike on Monday November 20, 2023 for a wage increase and in support of Palestinians. They rallied at the JR station in Tokyo and talked about their strike which was supported by students and other workers. Also a mass rally was held in Tokyo on November 18, 2023 against the capitalist attacks on workers around the world, against world war and for the Palestinians.

Workers and students talked about the conditions they face as well.

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Osaka Minato Godo Shoichi Metals Branch Historic Strike On 11/20/23 For Wages & For Palestinians

Today (11/20), we carried out the strike! To all the workers working in Osaka City. We at the Minato Godo Shoichi Metals Branch launched a full-day strike to denounce management's low response to the lump sum payment at the end of 2013, and we carried it through. Last year, the Ukraine war began and the world changed completely. The quagmire of the war situation and soaring global prices are directly impacting the lives of our workers.

In our branch, wages have not increased over the past 10 years, and lump-sum payments have continued to decline, dropping by 300,000 yen. The stagnation in corporate activities due to the coronavirus pandemic has accelerated this. Then, rising prices hit. I can't do it! Some young workers are even leaving their workplaces due to concerns about low wages and the future of their companies.

Wanting to change this situation and do something about it, the executive team has been calling for a "fight through a strike" since last year, and at one point the workplace was evenly divided between pros and cons. Through this struggle, we have re-solidified our unity. Although wage increases and lump-sum payments have not kept pace with the rise in prices, we have made at least a small amount of progress. However, the negotiations for the year-end lump sum payment, which I had been looking forward to, completely betrayed my expectations. The first round of negotiations took place on November 9th and the second round on November 16th, but in response to the union's modest request to ``return to the pre-coronavirus level of lump-sum payments,'' , repeating different answers.

Against war! The year-end lump-sum payment negotiations in 2023 are negotiations in a completely different situation than in the past. Above all, this is a situation that could lead to World War III. Last year's war in Ukraine turned into a complete quagmire, with the United States, NATO, and Russia engaged in fierce battles with Ukraine as a battlefield. Furthermore, in the Middle East, Israel continues its ground invasion of Gaza, a mass killing of ethnic cleansing targeting workers, citizens, and children, which can literally be called "genocide." The Kishida administration in Japan also turned the tide to an all-out war with China, using the Taiwan emergency as a battleground in Okinawa and the Japanese mainland. We cannot allow workers to be killed for the sake of the interests of major powers and big capital, who are trying to break through the stalemate of the world economy through war. Now is the time to raise our voices against war. If you keep quiet, you'll be killed.

Around the time of the war, the world economy experienced soaring prices for resources and materials, destroying the lives of working people and taking their lives. During this period, the lives of workers have been thoroughly degraded to non-regular employment, low wages, and no rights under the neoliberalism and Abenomics policies that followed Abe, Suga, and Kishida. There is this price increase. The prices of 30,000 items, including food, have increased this year as well.

The need for "wage increases" was finally emphasized in this spring's labor movement, and Keidanren was forced to take some measures. However, this is nothing more than a pause, as evidenced by documents from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare and the Ministry of Finance, which show that real wages have been negative for 16 consecutive months and that the inflation rate has been at least 3% for 12 consecutive months.

Furthermore, large companies have been making raging profits even during the coronavirus pandemic and rising prices. It was all created through the sweat of the workers. I have no choice but to fight and win We carried out today's strike, our first ever, with the support of our friends in the community. In a society where it is difficult to survive due to the coronavirus pandemic and soaring prices, strikes are being revived all over the country. Workers are rising up against the war, against the destruction of their lives, against the violation of their rights, against the destruction of solidarity and the crushing of unions, in the Sogo and Seibu strikes, spring labor strikes, and fights for wage increases, when they have reached the limit of their patience. Masu.

Now is the time for labor unions. Let's speak up and take action together. When workers come together, we can stop wars, change workplaces, and change society. let's work hard

To all the branch union members who decided to go on strike today, and to all the fellow fighters who came early in the morning to support our branch's strike, after completing the action at the Fukusaki factory in the morning, we will be heading to the local area from noon. Thank you very much for your hard work on the demo. We cannot prepare two different greetings in one day, so please bear with us as the content will be the same as the strike rally.

Yesterday, and the day before yesterday, seven people from our branch participated as members of a campaign group and fought together to participate in the National Workers' Rally and the International Solidarity Rally held in Hibiya Noon, Tokyo. Many of you gathered today participated, and 2,800 people, including labor unions from all over the country and overseas such as the United States, South Korea, and Germany, participated under the slogan, "Here is the power to stop wars and change society." It was a great success. The strike will be held the next day, so I will continue to do my best until the end, as part of the euphoria that the whole country felt until yesterday.

Now, we, Minato Godo and Shoichi Metal Branch, are currently fighting the lump sum payment fight at the end of 2023 based on Minato Godo's regional unification struggle policy.

Already on November 2nd, we submitted a request centered on the regional unification request amount of 750,000 yen, and the first round of negotiations took place on November 9th and the second round of negotiations took place on November 16th. However, the first response to the union's modest request to ``return to the pre-coronavirus lump sum level'' was 440,000 yen. During these negotiations, they repeatedly gave wildly different answers, including threatening to issue a strike notice if no drastic progress was made in the next round, and then the answer in the second round of negotiations was 500,000 yen.

Last year, the Ukraine war began and the world changed completely. The prolonged and mired war situation and soaring global prices are directly impacting the lives of our workers. At our branch, every time we have had negotiations, we have not been able to counter effectively the management's cliche statements of ``the future of the electric power industry is unclear,'' ``decrease in sales,'' and ``soaring material costs,'' and as a result, wages have declined. The lump-sum payment has continued to fall by 300,000 yen over 10 years, and 100,000 yen in just the four years of the coronavirus pandemic.

The stagnation in corporate activities due to the coronavirus pandemic has accelerated this. Then, rising prices hit. Younger employees are now worried about the future of their companies, and some are even leaving their workplaces.

Desiring to change this situation and do something about it, the executive team has been calling for a ``fight through a strike'' since last year.

Now, people all over the world are protesting against war, including the United Auto Workers' Union strike! Strikes are being held to counter the destruction of lives, violation of rights, destruction of solidarity, and crushing of unions caused by the coronavirus pandemic. In Japan, strikes are making a comeback, including strikes at Sogo and Seibu, spring labor unions and wage hikes, medical facilities amid the coronavirus pandemic, and most recently, TV Yamaguchi's labor union went on a 48-hour strike after negotiations on year-end lump sum payments broke down.

Our branch has a history of 64 years since the union was formed, but the only record that remains is the strike during the year-end lump sum payment struggle in 1971. Our seniors at the time blocked the ratification of the Okinawa Reversion Agreement! Under the slogan of winning the year-end lump sum payment battle, there is an article that says they were angry at the suppression of low-payment responses and went on an all-out strike, winning the largest settlement amount in history at that time. Apparently there have been some strikes since then, but I'm not sure. In any case, this will be the first strike of this generation in their lives.

In that sense, it was not easy for our branch to go on strike today. In last year's end-of-year lump sum struggle, the vote for the right to strike at a convention demanding a strike in response to the executive branch's proposal for a strike began with 〇x being divided into two. However, with the start of strike discussions, we have achieved a small amount of progress in the spring and summer lump-sum payment negotiations. Now, in this year-end lump sum negotiation, I was once again given a low price.

At a rally held on October 31st, they emphasized that striking is not a means of intimidation or extortion, but is a noble right to struggle, on par with the right to organize and bargain collectively as stated in Article 28 of the Constitution. We have established the right to strike by raising the issue from the executive branch that this is a fight to regain our pride as the driving force behind the movement. Of course, it was not established with a unanimous vote. There is anxiety, hesitation, and conflict because it is the first time. The executive team hasn't fully delved into this issue and had repeated discussions to get to where we are today. Even in the executive department, we are facing today with some anxiety and excitement. However, given the current situation surrounding workers and the fact that so many of our colleagues have rallied today to urgently request support for a strike, and we are able to hold a strike action, we are confident that our decision is correct. I was confident again.

At this time, Israeli airstrikes and ground battles are attacking hospitals, schools, and refugee camps in Gaza, Palestine, and genocide is being committed. The war that started in Ukraine is about to spread to the Middle East and then to East Asia. The lives of workers, citizens, and children are being taken away for the benefit of global big capital.

The Kishida administration has intensified its repression of labor unions in order to promote war, and has continued the insane crackdown on the Kansai ready-mixed concrete branch since 2018. The conditions of workers are increasingly low wages, no rights, and forced labor, and deaths from overwork and suicides from overwork are on the rise.

We are a fighting organization, and we can change the status quo through our own struggles. And now is the time to show that trade unions are hope, that we can win if we fight together, and that we have the power to stop wars and change society. Today's struggle, the strike, is a struggle that incorporates these thoughts.

The third round of negotiations will take place tomorrow at 10am. As for management, the president should seriously reflect on the city government that led to the workers' strike, seriously face the requested amount, and strive to resolve the year-end lump sum payment as soon as possible.

Although this will be a full-day action, I would like to conclude my remarks by appealing to the branch members to concentrate and see this through to the end.

Let's do our best together.

Shoichi-union [at] leto.econet.ne.jp