JILAF | Japan International Labour Foundation

The program was held online from Monday, June 21 to Friday, June 25.

JILAF has been implementing its programs in an online format via the Internet in place of training programs that invite initial trainees to Japan due to the restrictions on entry into Japan caused by the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). For this year's online program, lecture videos have been prepared in advance with the cooperation of relevant organizations, taking into consideration time differences and communication environments. Three of the five days are scheduled for real-time sessions and two days for viewing lecture videos.

Under these circumstances, a total of 10 participants (including 5 women) from 3 countries (Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine) completed all of the programs between June 21 and June 25.

These countries have been under Russian influence in the past and still have strong ties, while China, with its "Belt and Road" policy, is increasingly influential. In this training program, we invited labor union leaders from Ukraine, where there are many Japanese companies; Kazakhstan, where many Japanese companies have advanced into the market and where there are calls for Japan to invest; and Belarus, where the IT industry has been developing in recent years and Japanese companies have been paying attention.
Participants from health care unions who attended the lectures expressed a high level of interest in the labor aspects of the novel coronavirus.

During the session with a local of the trade union confederation, they exchanged views in real time with the cooperation of the Tokyo Local of the Japanese Trade Union Confederation. After a presentation on the efforts made by the Tokyo Local of the Japanese Trade Union Confederation, reports were given on the labor situation in each country.
During the exchange of opinions with officers, they received questions from participants and answered their questions, and the participants then mainly proposed the following action plans.
(1) We would like to incorporate what we learned this time into our educational programs for young union members. (Belarus)
(2) In the training programs of our own organizations and industrial unions, we will provide opportunities to learn how to prevent labor-management conflicts and about appealing union leaders. (Kazakhstan)
(3) We would like to share what we have learned here at training sessions for legal staff of labor unions to improve workers' rights and labor-management relations from the perspective of labor law. (Ukraine)
(4) We will work to create opportunities for social dialogue between the government, labor, and management. (Ukraine)