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LEAD: G-8 labor meeting calls for work-life balance, split on working style+
(Japan Economic Newswire Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) NIIGATA, Japan, May 12_(Kyodo) _ (EDS: UPDATING)
Senior labor officials from the Group of Eight nations on Monday shared recognition on the need to support a better work-life balance and promote lifelong career development amid increased life spans.
But opinions were split in discussions over a flexible working style among the participants from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States, a Japanese Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry official told reporters after the morning session of the second day of their three-day meeting in Niigata.
Some addressed the importance of encouraging flexibility in ways of working in order to secure stable employment throughout life, while others said too much flexibility may give rise to a further increase in part-time employment among young people, the officials said.
In the morning session, Yoko Kamikawa, Japanese state minister for gender equality and social affairs, made a speech on Japan's child-support programs and other efforts in promoting a healthy work-life balance.
Japan is hoping to demonstrate leadership in crafting measures to help older people take up employment, as a nation experiencing graying of its society at a particularly rapid pace.
An OECD report has indicated that the average life spans for Japanese women and men were the longest among the G-8 nations in 2005 -- 86 and 79 years respectively -- while Japanese government data have shown that people aged 65 or older will likely account for over 40 percent of the nation's population in 2055.
On Monday afternoon, the participants are set to discuss the impact of globalization on their labor markets resulting in widening economic and regional disparities and measures to address those challenges.
Earlier in the day, Japanese labor minister Yoichi Masuzoe said in his opening speech, "Our societies are faced with negative aspects of globalization, and it's needless to say that we need to closely cooperate to ensure our labor market systems operate in a smooth and orderly manner." Masuzoe is chairing the meeting.
The labor ministerial meeting is being held ahead of the G-8 summit in July in Hokkaido. Masuzoe noted that climate change will be a central theme of the summit and said, "I hope to show our determination to tackle climate change from a labor perspective from here in Niigata to the world."
Masuzoe is the only Cabinet labor minister attending the meeting, with the other seven nations being represented by vice ministers and other senior officials.
Their talks on Tuesday will focus on links between labor and environment issues, the first time it is being attempted in the G-8 framework.
A chairman's statement will then be issued, in which the participants are expected to agree to ensure harmony between labor and environmental policies, according to a draft obtained by Kyodo News.
They are also expected to reconfirm the importance of accelerating job creation through the use of local resources and of promoting participation of local governments and nonprofit organizations to help redress disparities, the draft says.
The three-day meeting kicked off on Sunday. On the first day, the officials held tripartite talks with labor unions and business groups, and shared an understanding on the urgent need to tackle issues related to increasing inequality within the G-8 economies.
Also attending the meeting are labor officials from the European Union, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and the International Labor Organization. Thailand and Indonesia have been invited to attend an outreach dialogue.
Copyright ? 2008 Kyodo News International, Inc.
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