ID :
41641
Tue, 01/20/2009 - 16:29
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/41641
The shortlink copeid
Hibiya tent village organizers ask opposition parties for help+
TOKYO, Jan. 19 Kyodo - The organizers of a tent village set up for laid-off temporary workers in Hibiya Park in Tokyo during the New Year holidays called on senior opposition party members Monday to form a more systematic support system for such people by the end of March, when more temps are expected to lose their jobs.
Specifically, the organizers led by Makoto Yuasa, an active advocate of the
rights of homeless people and laid-off workers, demanded that the number of
emergency shelters that come with consultation services for such people be
increased across Japan.
''We believe the 500 people who gathered in Hibiya Park are only a handful of
those mired in a similar situation,'' Yuasa said. ''Way more job cuts are
expected in March,'' he said, referring to the end of the current fiscal year
when many employment contracts are set to expire.
The organizers also asked the opposition party members to help collect
donations from companies that have dismissed nonregular workers and create a
fund to help these workers maintain a decent life and find new jobs.
''The tent village was managed by taxpayers' money,'' Yuasa said. ''Companies
that have actually thrown the workers into a difficult situation haven't paid
any money yet.''
Attending the meeting with the village organizers were such opposition party
members as Naoto Kan, acting president of the main opposition Democratic Party
of Japan, Mizuho Fukushima, leader of the Social Democratic Party, and Yasuo
Tanaka, chief of the New Party Nippon.
''We would like to take up the issue during ongoing deliberations at the House
of Councillors' Budget Committee as quickly as possible,'' Kan said.
Tanaka said, ''This is not something that can be solved with the help of the
government and companies alone,'' and called for a broad range of support from
other organizations such as labor unions and religious groups.
Earlier in the day, the organizers also handed a petition to the Health, Labor
and Welfare Ministry urging it to tackle the pressing issue.
The tent village was set up Dec. 31 to provide free food and shelter for
jobless people, including those who have been forced to leave accommodation
provided by their former employers.
Even after the closure of the village on Jan. 5, some of the people who took
advantage of it are still staying at temporary facilities in Tokyo.
==Kyodo
2009-01-19 22:43:54
Specifically, the organizers led by Makoto Yuasa, an active advocate of the
rights of homeless people and laid-off workers, demanded that the number of
emergency shelters that come with consultation services for such people be
increased across Japan.
''We believe the 500 people who gathered in Hibiya Park are only a handful of
those mired in a similar situation,'' Yuasa said. ''Way more job cuts are
expected in March,'' he said, referring to the end of the current fiscal year
when many employment contracts are set to expire.
The organizers also asked the opposition party members to help collect
donations from companies that have dismissed nonregular workers and create a
fund to help these workers maintain a decent life and find new jobs.
''The tent village was managed by taxpayers' money,'' Yuasa said. ''Companies
that have actually thrown the workers into a difficult situation haven't paid
any money yet.''
Attending the meeting with the village organizers were such opposition party
members as Naoto Kan, acting president of the main opposition Democratic Party
of Japan, Mizuho Fukushima, leader of the Social Democratic Party, and Yasuo
Tanaka, chief of the New Party Nippon.
''We would like to take up the issue during ongoing deliberations at the House
of Councillors' Budget Committee as quickly as possible,'' Kan said.
Tanaka said, ''This is not something that can be solved with the help of the
government and companies alone,'' and called for a broad range of support from
other organizations such as labor unions and religious groups.
Earlier in the day, the organizers also handed a petition to the Health, Labor
and Welfare Ministry urging it to tackle the pressing issue.
The tent village was set up Dec. 31 to provide free food and shelter for
jobless people, including those who have been forced to leave accommodation
provided by their former employers.
Even after the closure of the village on Jan. 5, some of the people who took
advantage of it are still staying at temporary facilities in Tokyo.
==Kyodo
2009-01-19 22:43:54
