An Alternative Labour History: Worker Control and Workplace Democracy by Dario Azzellini

Author:Dario Azzellini [Dario Azzellini]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781783601585
Publisher: Zed Books
Published: 2015-03-11T16:00:00+00:00

The beloved struggle: Nippon Kokan Tsurumi Mill Union

On 24 December 1945 a trade union was constituted at the Nippon Kokan Tsurumi Mill. The union adopted production control tactics and won the dispute. The steel mill is situated in the Keihin industrial area, stretching between Tokyo and Yokohama. The branch of the sailors’ union in the industrial area had already been formed on 5 October. On 26 October the workers of the Tsurumi shipyard began a struggle for the reinstatement of four dismissed workers. Supported by the United Metal Organization Promotion Committee, under the leadership of Syoichi Kasuga of the JCP and the Tsurumi branch of the Trade Union Preparation Congress, the struggle was successful.

At the beginning of November 144 Korean workers of the Tsurumi Mill, who had been forced to work in Japan during World War II, demanded an allowance to return home and the improvement of working conditions. Their actions inspired Japanese workers. As a union document recalled, “the struggle of Korean workers and Chinese prisoners reinforced the Japanese workers’ liberation struggle. Their struggles encouraged Japanese workers who had been slow in taking up action” ( NKK Tsurumi Union, 1956: 49–50 ).

Takeo Hayashi, cost clerk, and worker Seiichi Ishijima decided to build a union for all Tsurumi Mill workers. Hayashi was a JCP member, though he did not practice cell activities during working hours, but he participated in the JCP cell meetings at night. Hayashi had been with the company for only a year and did not know many people there. Therefore, Hayashi and Ishijima visited each other’s dormitory after work and together they investigated the state of young workers by listening to their stories. They understood their dissatisfaction and anxiety. They gathered together more than 10 people who were influential in the workplace or were able to inform young workers of their plans, and together they formed a union and set up demands. The main demands were the recognition of the union and collective bargaining, a significant wage increase and the rescinding of announced dismissals. The union spread fast throughout the mill, organizing workers and employees. Hayashi became first chairman of the union. Nevertheless, he did not intend to fill the executive positions with party members. He said: “I hope that the party members work as hard as the other people in each workplace”.

The company unwillingly recognized the union but rejected any wage increase or the cancellation of dismissals. As a consequence, the union started production control on 10 January 1946. The foremen were immediately excluded from the production process. The company’s director and the department managers were quietly confined in the director’s room and a locker room. The union’s production control had to struggle with several obstacles. They had to sell their steel to a wholesale merchant. But the wholesale market was dominated by Nippon Kokan Steel, which exercised an oligopolistic control over the steel sector. Therefore, there was a risk that the wholesale merchant would not buy steel from the union. Steel was also rationed and was allocated through ration tickets distributed by the wholesale merchant.

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