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2ND LD: Unionized Japanese workers at U.S. bases go on 1st strike in 16 yrs+(Japan Economic Newswire Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) YOKOSUKA, Japan, Nov. 21_(Kyodo) _ (EDS: CHANGING DATELINE, ADDING DETAILS) Unionized workers at U.S. military bases in Japan went on strike nationwide Wednesday morning for the first time in 16 years to protest benefits cuts proposed by the Japanese government, which covers personnel expenses and other operational costs for the bases. The 16,000-member All Japan Garrison Forces Labor Union, also known as Zenchuro, said the action covers a limited number of hours and that workers from nine chapters started to go on strike for four hours of each shift. The whole campaign, which started early in the morning, will last until midnight Wednesday, it said. The striking workers included those at the U.S. Yokota Air Base, where the headquarters of the U.S. Forces is located, and bases in Okinawa Prefecture, which hosts the bulk of U.S. military facilities in Japan. They are mainly working in restaurants on the bases and are involved in cleaning and housing maintenance jobs, according to the union. In Yokosuka, a port city south of Tokyo that is home to the U.S. Navy headquarters in Japan, some 200 union members picketed in front of the naval base's main gate holding placards with messages such as, "We're on strike." Yokosuka city assembly member Norio Sakuma, 52 and a member of the union's local branch, said, "We know the government and some in the public say the amount of special allowances for U.S. base workers is too much. But we hope such people understand the workers are always faced with an unstable employment situation." Sakuma was referring to an allowance equivalent to 10 percent of the basic pay of national government employees, as well as a retirement allowance and benefits paid for language study. On the possible impact of the strike on U.S. military functions, Japanese Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba merely said he hopes it will be minimal, while the public relations office of the U.S. military in Japan refrained from commenting. The move came after the Japanese government proposed pay cuts as part of efforts to curtail host-nation support for the bases, including costs to hire Japanese workers, amid snowballing national debt. The United States is opposed to the cuts. On Monday, the Finance Ministry's Fiscal System Council proposed the government cut costs associated with hosting U.S. bases including wages for Japanese workers in the national budget for the next fiscal year from April. Copyright 2007 Kyodo News International, Inc. |