Foreign workers march to call for job security

SHIZUOKA, Japan, Dec. 21 Kyodo - A union representing foreign workers in Japan, mostly Japanese-Brazilians,
staged a demonstration in downtown Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, on Sunday
calling on companies and the government to protect their jobs amid increasing
job cuts among non-regular workers due to the deepening economic downturn.
About 250 foreign workers, including some from neighboring Aichi, Gifu and Mie
prefectures where plants affiliated with Toyota Motor Corp. and Suzuki Motor
Corp are located, joined the demonstration.
''Stop cutting temp staff. Give us support for our livelihoods,'' the workers
chanted in Japanese.
''(Japanese companies) use us as if we were disposable. But we work legally in
Japan and pay tax,'' said Moizeis Dias Mizuki, a 49-year-old Japanese-Brazilian
from Komaki, Aichi Prefecture. ''We want them to treat us the same way they
treat Japanese.''
According to a federation of labor unions in Hamamatsu's Naka Ward, the number
of consultations concerning employment has risen sharply since September and 90
percent involved Japanese-Brazilians.
Toshifumi Nakayasu, the head of the federation, said, ''Foreign workers who
cannot speak Japanese tend to face job cuts first as they are unable to resist
management.''
He said actions should be taken to raise public awareness about the current
plight of foreign workers in Japan.
==Kyodo