According to Japan's "Asahi Shimbun" reported on the 18th, a series of Incidents of Japanese employees being abused by US supervisors and violating their rights have occurred in the US military base in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. The All Japan Garrison Union said it had received many complaints about the incident, but the reported violations may be just the "tip of the iceberg."
Data chart: On February 24, 2019 local time, residents of Gino Bay, Japan, arrived at the polling station to participate in the referendum vote. Residents of Okinawa, Japan, held a referendum on the disputed relocation of the US military base on the 24th.
According to reports, two Japanese female employees at the U.S. Army Zama barracks were reportedly asked to work late in an after-school nursery for several days without their consent. One of the employees was 8 months pregnant. The 2 employees are believed to have learned from their superiors that the decision was made by the U.S. military without taking into account their personal circumstances.
At a daycare center at Atsugi Naval Base, a female employee was "inappropriately" reassigned to work and told she would face punishment for allegedly leaking information. But a union investigation showed that her boss in the U.S. military was responsible for the information leak.
The union reportedly began protesting after learning of violations of workers' rights and other complaints in Zama Barracks and Atsugi Naval Base. Ai Kumaki, secretary general of the union's division in charge of the two bases, said the problem was urgent because a pregnant worker had to work without taking into account her health as a mother.
The data shows that in 2018, the number of abuses committed by U.S. administrators exceeded 10, resulting in victims falling ill, being forced to be hospitalized and quitting their jobs, compared with only one such incident reported each year. "We've received a lot of complaints, like shelter for people in question, but the reported violations may be just the tip of the iceberg," Kumagi said. ”
The union considered a series of abuses to be "a pervasive problem" and began negotiations with Japan's Defense Ministry in October. A union representative said working conditions at U.S. military bases had not yet been fully improved. The unions held a demonstration in front of the Zama barracks on 1 November.
The report pointed out that behind the abuse incident is an unfair labor mechanism, resulting in Japanese employees being unable to avoid abuse by US managers. Another problem, the union said, is that workers at U.S. military bases are not adequately protected by Japanese private enterprise laws and regulations. Although they work in relation to national security, they are not treated as civil servants.
Tomoyuki Iijima, chairman of the union's Kanagawa regional headquarters, said the U.S. military's management of workers was increasingly "threatening." Fearing reprisals, workers struggle to speak out even as unionists. About 9,000 Japanese and others are believed to be working at military bases in the area, 6,000 of whom are union members.