Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2000, published 89th ILC session (2001)

1.  The Committee notes the information contained in the Government’s report in response to its previous observation regarding the communications from the Japanese National Hospital Workers’ Union (JNHWU), concerning "wage-based" contract staff (chingin-shokuin) and alleging discrimination based on the type of their contract in contravention of the Convention. It also notes the court decisions and statistical information attached to the report.

2.  The Committee also notes the observations received from the Japanese Trade Union Confederation (RENGO) concerning the application of the Convention to part-time workers. These communications have been forwarded to the Government and will be examined by the Committee at its next session together with any comments the Government may wish to make.

3.  The Committee notes that no indication of the overall earnings differential between men and women was communicated by the Government this year. Nevertheless, the data supplied permitted some conclusion to be drawn concerning labour market participation rates and earnings. For example, the earnings differentials between men and women were narrower among university graduates than among groups at lower educational levels. It appears that earnings differentials tend to widen in the higher age brackets, with women university graduates aged 20 to 24 earning 91 per cent of men’s contractual cash earnings compared to women graduates in the 40-44 age group who earn 77 per cent of men’s contractual cash earnings. The same age trend is apparent among less-educated men and women. For example, women junior high-school graduates in the 20-24 age bracket earn 76 per cent of the contractual cash earnings of their male counterparts, while similarly educated women in the 40-44 age range earn 58 per cent of the earnings of men in the same age group. The Committee further notes that the participation of men and women in the Japanese labour market also varies widely by age across all sectors. Women in the 20-24 age bracket make up 49.5 per cent of the labour force in industry, 76 per cent in finance and insurance, 32 per cent in transport and communications, 40 per cent in manufacturing, 64 per cent in services and 50 per cent in the wholesale and retail trade sector. Their participation rate declines markedly in the higher age brackets, with the percentages of women aged 30-34 decreasing to 25 in industry, 40 per cent in finance and insurance, 10 per cent in transport and communications, 19 per cent in manufacturing, 37 per cent in services and 25 per cent in the wholesale and retail trade sector. The Committee requests the Government to provide statistics in its next report, in accordance with its general observation adopted in 1998, that would permit an assessment of the overall trends in the labour force participation and the remuneration levels between men and women, including the wage differentials within the same age bracket.

4.  The Committee recalls that the JNHWU alleged that there are significant disparities of treatment, including the level of wages, between wage-based contract staff, who are employed on a daily basis for a maximum of one year at a time, and permanent staff employed in the national hospitals and sanatoriums. The JNHWU claimed this situation violated the Convention because women make up 70 per cent of the pool of contract staff. The JNHWU’s communications also referred to a unilateral reduction of contract staff wages in 1993, which accentuated the pay disparity, following the adoption of "management restructuring" measures.

5.  Based upon the information provided by the Government, the Committee had observed earlier that neither direct nor indirect discrimination based on sex existed between the contract staff and the permanent staff of the hospitals and sanatoriums since women are concentrated in equally high percentages in both. The Committee, however, expressed its concern that the predominantly female sector has such a large percentage of contract staff. The Committee noted that the extensive utilization of temporary labour in a predominately female sector has an indirect impact on wage levels in general, inevitably broadening the wage gap between men and women. It therefore urged the Government to take measures to enable hospitals to harmonize their employment practices with their personnel needs in the light of the requirement under the Convention to ensure equal pay for work of equal value.

6.  The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the Ministry of Health and Welfare is making efforts to implement measures directed at harmonizing the hospitals’ employment practices with their actual personnel needs in line with the National Personnel Authority’s decision of 1996, which recommended: (a) promotion of rationalization through the reconsideration of tasks performed by wage employees, reorganization of hospital wards; (b) appointment of short-term or non-permanent staff to tasks performed over short periods or for shorter than eight hours per day; and (c) the appointment of permanent employees in positions requiring full-time service after appropriate redistribution of staff. The Government reports that efforts are being made to reduce the number of wage-based employees as much as possible and to operate national hospitals and sanatoriums with the fixed number of permanent staff. The Committee would be grateful if the Government could supply more detailed information on these measures being undertaken by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the specific results achieved in reducing the wage differentials between the wage-based and permanent staff, considering that, as the Government itself states, this practice has existed in the national hospitals since 1968 and has been managed inadequately.

7.  The Committee also asked the Government to provide information on other sectors that may utilize wage-based contract staff and the proportion of men and women in such sectors. The Government indicates that no institutions under the public authority other than hospitals and sanatoriums engage wage-based employees. The Committee recalls that it requested this information on the existence of wage-based staff in all sectors and would be grateful if the Government could provide such information in the detail requested in its previous observation.

8.  The Committee notes the Government’s view expressed in its report, that the Committee of Experts’ observations seem to have expanded to an analysis of wage disparities between men and women in general, rather than the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value, and thus exceeding the Convention’s scope. The Government considers that such general disparities result from various factors such as the type of sector, region, size of enterprise, form of employment, working hours, occupation, rank, age, education, and length of service. It states that these areas need to be addressed through promotion of gender equality in hiring and posting and job promotion, as well as harmonization of professional and family life. The Committee notes the analysis of the Government and agrees that the above factors are causes of pay disparities between men and women that need to be addressed. In regard to the Government’s statement that such factors are unrelated to the Convention, however, the Committee would point out that it has often recalled the link between the promotion of equal pay for work of equal value and the promotion of general measures of equality. It observes, as it has in the past, that measures to promote equal access to employment, promotions and to a wide range of occupations as well as the promotion of equal status between men and women in the society are not only relevant but essential to the full application of the Convention. The Committee also draws the Government’s attention to the fact that while the Convention does not require the abolition of differences in the general wage level between various regions, sectors or enterprises, the principle of equal remuneration for men and women workers for work of equal value extends beyond jobs performed in the same establishment, and beyond jobs performed by both sexes. It refers the Government to paragraph 22 of its General Survey of 1986 on equal remuneration, indicating that discrimination may first of all arise out of the existence of occupational categories and jobs reserved for women, which is the case in the career tracking system as applied in a certain number of enterprises in Japan.

9.  Further to its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s statement in its report that the career tracking system in Japan has been used mainly as a gender-based employment management system. The Committee notes from the Government’s report that, in 1998, 42.4 per cent of the companies having adopted the career tracking system in their personnel management, have hired both men and women for their fast track, which constitutes a 14.8 per cent increase as compared to the previous survey (27.6 per cent in 1995, which was itself a 18.9 per cent decrease from the 1992 survey). The Committee would be grateful if the Government could provide information on the reasons given for these fluctuations, as well as the difference between the number of companies willing to hire women on the fast track (42.4 per cent) and the number of companies declaring that they wish to "actively utilize women’s abilities" in their policy regarding utilization of women in the fast track in the future (65.6 per cent according to the "Survey of the employment circumstances of women in super track" implemented in February 2000).

10.  The Committee notes with interest that to address the gender segregation promoted through the career tracking system, the Ministry of Labour issued in June 2000 the "Matters to be noted in relation to employment management differentiated by career track", which is attached to the report. These guidelines replace the previous ones on the career tracking system and are aimed at securing compliance with the Equal Employment Opportunity Law, promoting equality between men and women in human resource management at the enterprise level, and enhancing women’s job-related competencies. The Committee notes that the guidelines acknowledge that the career tracking system has been functioning in many instances as a de facto personnel management differentiated on the basis of gender. The guidelines clarify that, pursuant to the entry into force on 1 April 1999 of the revision of the Equality Law of 1997, the employers not only have the obligation to manage the career tracking system without discrimination on the basis of gender at every stage of employment including recruitment, they are also encouraged to take positive action for the enhancement of women’s competencies in employment. The employers thus have an obligation to design each career tracking according to objective and rational considerations and an objective evaluation of the contents of tasks performed. Any changes to the treatment afforded under the tracks have to be notified and discussed with the unions and the workers beforehand. The guidelines finally enumerate a series of measures to be taken in order to manage the career tracking system in an optimal manner that takes into account the experience and competence of workers, and in a way that enhances their motivation. In this regard, reference is made to the difficulties which exist for women having regard to their burden of childcare and housework, transfer to remote workplaces that involve separation from the family, and developing a balance between work and family life. With reference to the statistical information on the participation of women in the labour market, the Committee finds it important to promote measures that will assist the professional development of women in the current social context. It must note, however, that this approach still places family responsibilities mainly on women and in this regard the Committee would refer to the obligations under Convention No. 156 which Japan has ratified.

11.  The Committee notes the above-described guidelines with interest as they address many of the sources of the wage differential between men and women to which the Committee has been making reference in its comments. It is also pleased to note that the Prefectural Labour Bureau, as well as the Equal Employment Department, will from now on base their notifications and guidance on these guidelines. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would supply information on the manner in which the guidelines are implemented at the enterprise level, their impact in reducing the wage differential between men and women, and their use in any administrative or judicial proceedings.

12.  The Committee would be grateful to be kept informed of cases concerning wage discrimination on the basis of gender brought before the Equal Opportunity Arbitration Committee, and the way they are resolved. It also welcomes the Prefectural Labour Bureau’s supervisory and promotional activities directed to enterprises and requests the Government to provide information on these activities.