働き方改革「労基研報告」　

　厚労省の労働基準関係法制研究会は１月、「働き方改革関連法」施行後５年の検証や、「労働基準法と労働基準行政のあり方について抜本的な見直し」の議論と検討をまとめた「報告」を公表した。

「合意」で適用除外　

　報告は、労働者側の反発が強い「デロゲーション（適用除外）」を「法定基準を調整・代替する」と言い換え、三六協定や裁量労働制の適用の容易化を狙う「過半数代表者」の法整備を提起する。　

　　労使コミュニケーションは、「過半数代表の適正選出と基盤強化」を掲げるが、労働組合の組織率が16・１％、中小に働く労働者が７割を超え、非正規労働者が約４割で圧倒的に多い未組織労働者の現状から、使用者の言いなりに労働時間規制を外すための手続きを整備しようとする狙いが透ける。　

　　また、三六協定など本社との一括協定化に対する反発を避け、締結を現行の事業場単位を維持しつつ、複数事業場での労使協定の一括手続き明確化を提起。　

　　残業上限の見直しは、過労死ラインの「月１００時間未満」の引き下げに向けた社会的合意を得るために上限規制の施行状況や影響を「注視することが適当」と見送り、労働者保護規制の強化には背を向けている。　

経団連の「意向」　

　　経団連は昨年１月、「労使自治を軸とした労働法制に関する提言」を公表、①過半数労働組合のある企業を対象に労働時間規制のデロゲーション範囲を拡大、②過半数労働組合がない企業を対象に労使協創協議制（選択性）の創設などを求めた。　

　　「報告」は概ねこれに沿ったもので、労働基準法の見直しを検討している労働政策審議会労働条件分科会（ 会長＝ 山川隆一明治大教授）は５回の審議を行い、来年の通常国会に労基法改正案として提出する方向で急ピッチで作業中だ。　

権利擁護の労基法　

　　そもそも労働法制は、使用者との「支配従属関係」に置かれる、弱い立場の労働者の権利を擁護するための法律だ。また、憲法は労働条件を労使自治に委ねず、「賃金、就業時間、休憩その他の勤労条件に関する基準は、法律で定める」（27条）と規定する。　

　　労基法１ 条は、「労働者が人たるに値する最低の労働条件であり、この基準を理由に低下してはならず、向上に努めなければならない」と明記している。労働組合と法曹界は、今回の労基法「見直し」にこぞって反対だ。労基法の有名無実化を、力を合わせて阻止しよう。

英訳版↓

No. 1405 Report on Reform in Way of Working

The Research Section on Labor Standards and Relevant Laws of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) released a report in January. It verifies labor practices after five years of implementation of ‘laws to reform way of working’ and summarizes debates and evaluations on ‘the fundamental review on the Labor Standard Law and its management.’

GOVERNMENT UNDERMINES LABOR STANDARD LAW – NEVER BE ACCEPTED

An ‘agreement’ brings exclusion

The report says ‘legal norms are adjusted and alternated’, instead of saying ‘derogation (exclusion from legal application)’, which is unpopular among workers. It proposes a legal mechanism to fit to the majority representatives of workers so as to simplify applications of Article 36 of the Labor Standard Law (on overtime work or day-off duties) and carry out the flexible working hour practice.

It advises that communications between the labor and the management should rely on an ‘appropriate selection of the majority representatives of workers and enhancement of the basis.’ Currently, however, only 16.1% of workers are organized by labor unions, over 70% of workers are employed by small-and-medium-sized companies, and almost 40% of workers are employed as casual laborers. An overwhelming percentage of workers are unorganized today. Thus, the management side, shrewdly, attempts to reshuffle the legal system so that the regulations on working hours can be lifted arbitrarily for its convenience.

The report explicitly recommends to conclude an agreement between the labor and the management in a package; that is, a contract should be made collectively between several workplaces of a company on one hand and its headquarters. The document, however, tries to avoid frictions coming from the labor-management package-system negotiation over Article 36, and maintains a posture to admit the current practices of individual contract conclusion between each workplace and the company’s head office.

Concerning a review over the upper limit of after-hours work, the report turns its back on strengthening protective measures in favor of workers. It just says ‘it is appropriate to pay sincere attention to’ developments of implementation of the upper-limit restriction policies and impacts to attain a social accord. ‘Shorter than 100 hours a month’ is regarded as the borderline of Karo-shi (to die of overwork) and the labor has requested long to bring it down.

A will of the Keidanren

In January 2024, the Keidanren, or the Japan Business Federation, announced ‘Proposals on Labor Laws on the Basis of Labor-Management Autonomy. It requests (1) to expand spheres of derogation of the work-hour restriction rules for such companies as have a labor union comprising of the majority of workers, and (2) to create a mechanism of labor-management joint formulation and consultation (selective) for companies that have no such labor unions as said above.

The MHLW’s Report goes along these ideas. The ministry has the Labor Policy Council which reviews the Labor Standard Law. The Council’s Department on Working Conditions (Chairman, Prof. Yamakawa Ryuichi, Meiji University) has held five meetings, and now works intensely to compile a bill to amend the Labor Standard Law in order to present the draft to the ordinary session of the Diet in 2026.

Labor Standard Law should protect workers’ rights

Labor laws are to protect the rights of workers, who are placed on the weaker side in the formula in which the management rules and the labor obeys. The Constitution stipulates that working conditions should not be entrusted to the labor-management autonomy, and it specifies that ‘standards for wages, hours, rest and other working conditions shall be fixed by law.’

Article 1 of the Labor Standard Law provides that ‘the norms are to guarantee workers in the minimum level to be deserved as a human being, and they must not be aggravated but be improved.’ The labor and the judiciary unitedly oppose the ‘review’ on the Labor Standard Law.

Let’s fight together to prevent the labor laws from being undermined.



June 4, 2025