JILAF | Japan International Labour Foundation

JILAF invited eight persons (including seven women) from eight organizations in eight English-speaking African countries to visit Japan from November 3 to 16.

All of the participants belonged to organizations affiliated with the UNI Global Union, so they also attended the 3rd UNI World Congress held in Nagasaki on November 9–12.
The participants eagerly devoured knowledge about the labour situation in Japan and showed a keenness to put it to use in the labour movement in their own countries.
During the lectures and at places visited, they showed a strong interest in such topics as the structure of labour unions in Japan, union membership, the organization of nonregular workers, the relationship between unions and political parties, the annual spring labour offensive, the policy of Rengo (Japanese Trade Union Confederation) on the issue of foreign labour, the labour-management consultation system, the tripartite system, and the employment insurance system.
The participants also asked many questions about the gender problem in Japan, including the wage gap between men and women, the appointment of women to managerial posts and as labour union leaders, and measures to prevent sexual harassment.
At Hello Work Nagasaki the participants actually operated the job introduction system and searched for job vacancy information. They showed much interest in such issues as the difference between private job introduction organizations and the Hello Work offices, the pros and cons of Hello Work use by new school graduates, and whether there were services relating to retraining for elderly people and training for employed persons. Participants commented that they would like to see the Hello Work system introduced in their own countries.