Number of union workers falls to record low

Dec 26, 2017 | News On Japan

Dec 26, 2017 (NHK) - A government survey shows that the percentage of Japanese workers belonging to labor unions has fallen to a record low of 17.1 percent, for the 6th straight year-on-year decline.

The labor ministry says about 9.98 million workers belonged to unions as of the end of June. That's up 41,000 from a year earlier.

But only 17.1 percent of full-time employees are unionized, down 0.2 percentage points from last year.

The figure is the lowest since the survey began in 1953.

Rengo, Japan's largest union confederation, has 6.92 million members, up 49,000 from last year.

The Zenroren confederation has 771,000 -- a decline of 5,000.

Another group, Zenrokyo, has 110,000 members, or 2,000 fewer than last year.

In contrast, the number of unionized part-time workers increased by 77,000 to top 1.2 million. They account for 7.9 percent of the part-time workforce and 12.2 percent of overall union workers.

Both figures are record highs since such figures were first reported in 1990.

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