News

UNI Commerce affiliate JSD at its 10th congress on 21/22 June 2011 proposed its members whether they should resume a discussion on merger with the Japan's largest union UI Zensen.

Both unions are organising workers in the commerce industry. JSD, with most department store organized, has been expanding its membership in the super market sector. UI Zensen　organises service sector workers including super market workers as well as manufacturing sector workers. While the two unions have been collaborating in promoting policies favourable to the sector and in conducting a survey on working conditions in the sector, they have been competing with each other for membership.

"I believe that pooling our resources and power to organise the unorganised is the right way to go", says JSD President Shoichi Hachino.

140 of JSD affiliates have 3 months to have an internal discussion on this issue at each union. At a special conference to be held in September this year, they will decide whether or not to relaunch a dialogue toward merger with UI Zensen.

The UI Zensen Executive Committee has already expressed its readiness to restart discussion on the merger with JSD earlier this year.

Only about 12% of retail workers in Japan are members of a union and covered by collective agreements, moreover multinational retailers are largely unorganised.

"The Japanese model of union-labour relations is a concept that is not easily understood by the management of the MNCs" says JSD President Hachino who is set to become a UNI Vice-President representing UNI Asia Pacific at the upcoming regional conference in Manila, Philippines.

"But through close cooperation with UNI we will be aiming to organise workers in those companies".

JSD represents 220,000 workers in the Japanese retail industry.

UI Zensen is Japan's largest union with about 1.09 million members in manufacturing, retail and other services with the retail sector being the fastest growing part of the union.