Labor Policy Keiichiro HAMAGUCHI Chapter 4 Gender Policy
Labor Policy Keiichiro HAMAGUCHI
Chapter 4 Gender Policy
Section 1 Equal Opportunity for Men and Women
(1) Protection of women workers • 1911 Factory Law set limit for women at 12 hours and banned night work. • ILO Convention No. 4 on Night Work of Women adopted in 1919. • 1947 Labor Standards Law limited overtime by women (2 hours per day, 6 hours per week, 150 hours per year) and banned night work. • 1978 Study Group on Labor Standards Law report advocated abolition of women protection because of discriminatory impact.
• Trade unions opposed removal of women protection. • 1985 revised LSL maintained protection for industrial firms, modified (24 hours per month, 150 hours per year) for non-industrial firms. • 1997 revised LSL abolished women protection except for maternity protection. • 1990 ILO Convention No. 171 on Night Work applied both sex and required health check. • 2006 revised LSL will remove ban on underground work.
(2) Protection of maternity • 1911 Factory Law banned work within 5 weeks after childbirth. • 1923 revised FL extended it to 4 weeks before childbirth and 6 weeks after childbirth. • 1926 revised FL banned dismissals during these periods. • 1919 ILO Convention No. 3 • 1947 Labor Standards Law extended the periods to 6 weeks before and after childbirth.
(3) Equal opportunity and treatment in employment
(a) Equal wages for men and women • 1947 LSL banned wage discrimination based on sex (Article 4). • Japan ratified ILO Convention No. 100 on Equal Remuneration for Men and Women Workers for Work of Equal Value in 1967. • This did not prevent any discriminatory treatment against women, as well as wage gap caused by discriminatory human resource management.
(b) 1985 Endeavor obligation law • UN adopted Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women in 1967. • UN adopted Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women in 1979. • 1978 Study Group on Labor Standards Law report advocated establishment of anti-discrimination legislation. • Employers opposed introduction of equal opportunity and treatment. • 1985 Equal Employment Opportunity Law required “endeavor to provide equal opportunity, ” only banned discrimination in retirement and dismissal.
(c) 1997 Legal obligation law • 1985 endeavor obligation law had a few legal effects but vast social impact on human resource management. • 1997 revised EEOL banned any discrimination against women in recruitment, hiring, assignment and promotion. • It allowed positive actions (setting quota to rectify unequal situation). • It required employers to prevent sexual harassment.
(d) 2006 revision • 2004 Study Group on Equal Employment Opportunity Policy report focused on indirect discrimination and discrimination based on pregnancy. • Labor Policy Council discussed the issues. • 2006 revised EEOL ban indirect discrimination on specific areas (height requirement, transfer requirement and transfer experience, excluding part-time work).
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