Employment and Labor Union Laws in Japan between the 1889 and 1946 Constitutions: A Comparative Study

This research is based on the descriptive and analytical methodology. The importance of studying labor laws and labor unions in Japan between 1889 and 1946 constitutions is because Japan was out of a feudal phase, and had no idea about the factory system and industrialization in their modern sense before the Meiji era. Generally, its labor system used to be mostly familial, and the economic system was based on agriculture. This called for the enactment of legislations and laws appropriate for the coming phase in Meiji era. Thus, this paper examines the role of Meiji government in enacting labor legislations and laws when he came to power in 1896, and his new constitution in 1889 and the civil code of 1896. It further examines the way Meiji government and the following Japanese governments until the end of World War II did not abide by Meiji laws and stipulations of the constitution with their abusive actions in ending the workers’ strikes and disputes, with the inequality between genders in labor and wages, and the use of child labor in factories in an inhuman way. The paper clarifies the role of the American occupation of Japan (1945-1952) after dissolving Meiji constitution and legislations and the government measures that followed them to enact new legislations, laws and constitution for Japan on November 3, 1946, which was active in May 3, 1947. The paper has concluded that the American occupation policy of Japan was able to avoid the dissidence of millions of Japanese workers, whose level of livelihood was deteriorating after their country lost the war, and convert them from a dissident group against the occupation to a peaceful group which did not target the occupation in their future goals.

Ladies Aid as Labor History

In the Arabic-speaking mahjar (diaspora), the plight of the working poor was the focus of women’s philanthropy. Scholarship on welfare relief in the interwar Syrian, Lebanese, and Palestinian diaspora currently situates it within a gendered politics of benevolence. This article reconsiders that frame and argues for a class-centered reassessment of “ladies aid” politics exploring the intersections of women’s relief with proletarian mutual aid strategies. Founded in 1917, the Syrian Ladies Aid Society (SLAS) of Boston provided food, shelter, education, and employment to Syrian workers. SLAS volunteers understood their efforts as mitigating the precarities imposed on Syrian workers by the global capitalist labor system. Theirs was both a women’s organization and a proletarian movement led by Syrian women. Drawing from SLAS records and the Syrian American press, the article centers Syrian American women within processes of working-class formation and concludes that labor history of the interwar mahjar requires focus on spaces of social reproduction beyond the factory floor.

The Unemployment Rate Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic: Propose the Best Practices Policy to Maintain Labor Market Stability

This study analyzes the impact of the shocks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic on the labor market. The research is vital for expanding the literature about maintaining the unemployment rate amid crisis, ultimately reducing unnecessary social costs. The quantitative approach in this study uses a Granger causality test to understand the effect of the shock caused by the COVID-19 pandemic on unemployment. Meanwhile, the qualitative approach in this study uses literature related to economic growth, crisis management, and unemployment. Granger causality tests show that economic slowdown hurts the unemployment rate. Based on discussion and synthesis from works of literature, this paper recommends some of the policies to maintain growth and prevent a more severe collapse in the labor market; the government needs to sustain aggregate demand and supply. Also, ensure the supply chain runs well amid various restrictions. Besides, this paper also proposes that the government maximizes alternative budget resources. Meanwhile, strengthening the labor system and developing health and food security industries must be a priority policy amid-post the pandemic.

MANAGEMENT OF LABOR SYSTEM BASED ON STATISTICAL MODELS AND SIMULATION

The article considers the problem of the development of decision-making systems in relation to the system of remuneration of labor (LRS) at enterprises. For the introduction of new, more modern and effective types of LRS, decision-makers currently do not have adequate tools. Thus, there is a problem of developing decision support systems (DSS). The key element of the DSS is the LRS models, which provide predictive analytics. However, the compilation of a LRS model is a difficult task due to the factor of randomness and multivariance of LRS. To solve the problem, two approaches to the creation of LRS models are proposed: developing the statistical analytical models and creating the simulation models. In the study, the first approach is considered, namely, an analytical statistical model of one of the piece-rate system is proposed. Formulas are obtained for the probability densities of the resulting indicators of the piece-rate LRS, the statistical characteristics of the indicators and the assessment of the risk of ineffective LRS use are calculated. This will allow significant progress in the development of DSS in the field of labor economics and personnel management

Information technology for career guidance of creatively gifted university students. Region aspect

The article continues the description of the functioning of the typical regional information and communication system “Student and Labor” (SAL), begun by the authors in No. 8-2020 of the “Informatics and Education” journal. This system is aimed at identifying and developing university students who are creatively gifted in the field of science, techniques and technology in the process of their gradual involvement in real labor activity in cooperation with the leading enterprises in the region. The algorithm of functioning and the organizational structure of the “Student and Labor” system, informational, scientific, methodological and motivational aspects of interaction between students and enterprises on the basis of continuous measurement of the index of the prospects of interaction between a student and an enterprise are considered in detail. This index includes 10 components, the main of which is the creative index of research works / projects carried out by the student, taking into account the interests of the enterprise. In turn, the creative index is calculated on the basis of a multi-criteria assessment of a work / project according to 15 particular criteria. “Convolution” into scalar values of individual components and criteria of the index of the prospects of the student’s interaction with the enterprise and the creative index of the work / project is carried out in the most objective way using the so-called universal coefficients of importance.

Answering Skeptics

This chapter considers whether the new labor system could work as intended in the United States and whether alternative policies could better address the country's economic and political problems. It reviews some of the likely implementation challenges the new system would face, including determining the appropriate bargaining unit in a broad-based system and relationship friction between national and local unions, and finds, based on the US historical experience, that the challenges are likely manageable. It also reviews alternatives to the new labor system and argues that while most would be helpful, all have limitations. Other strategies to strengthen labor, such as increased organizing by unions and banning right-to-work laws, are necessary but on their own would not sufficiently increase union density or dramatically increase collective bargaining coverage. Non-union policies — from increased training to a jobs guarantee to campaign finance reform — would do less to raise wages, reduce inequality, or increase political voice. These often rely on strong labor unions to work best. All told, the new labor system is practical and necessary.

Creating the New System

This chapter explores whether a new labor system could ever become law and overcome the massive political hurdles standing in the way. The path to victory is quite narrow. There needs to be sufficient grassroots activism to push labor issues to the top of the agenda, a strong majority of politicians willing to vote for pro-union policy, champions to drive the policy forward, and a favorable intellectual climate. As difficult as these are to achieve, they are possible if favorable trends continue and rise in intensity. The public must increasingly and more forcefully demand change, and the political and intellectual climate must continue shifting in favor of labor modernization. The chapter concludes by echoing the theme of the book — that a new labor system with broad-based bargaining and encouragement for union membership would help address the fundamental economic and political challenges that the United States faces. The more people recognize this, the better the chances for creating a new labor system.

The Contours of a Modern Labor System

This chapter explains why policies that encourage union membership and promote broad-based bargaining would enable labor to deliver much more for workers and the economy than they can under the current system. The chapter discusses why labor has been in decline in the United States and elsewhere but has been able to maintain strength in a few other countries with favorable policies. Policies that actively encourage union membership are needed to counteract the collective action problem unions present. The chapter also discusses why collective bargaining currently does not work very well in the United States but could be much improved by shifting toward broader-based bargaining. Compared to worksite bargaining, broad-based bargaining raises wages for more workers, reduces economic inequality as well as gender and racial pay gaps to a greater degree, and is better suited to the way firms are structured in the modern economy.

Lessons from Canada, Britain, and Australia

This chapter reinforces the lessons from the preceding chapter by presenting case studies from Canada, Britain, and Australia — the three countries most similar to the United States. The case studies highlight the importance of broad-based bargaining and strong incentives for union membership. Canada has the kinds of traditional labor policies that most union supporters wish for in the United States, including stronger strike rights and no “right-to-work” laws, but unions in Canada continue to lose density, and workplace-level bargaining is not working very well there either. Both Britain and Australia are suffering the consequences of moving toward US-style law and dismantling their systems that promoted higher-level bargaining and robust union membership. Importantly, major elements of the left in all three countries have begun working to promote the kinds of changes called for in this book. Comparisons with countries similar to the United States reinforce the need for a new US labor system.