Concerted Activities of Non-union Emplyoees and Unfair Labor Practice System

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Japanese Trade Union Law was enacted in 1945. During the following four years, the Constitution and the Labor Relations Adjustment Law were enacted, resulting in the major amendments made to the Trade Union Law. By this time, the rights of workers to organize, to bargain and to act collectively had been secured. The framework of the present Labor Relations Law was established during those time, and it has not changed greatly for fifty years thereafter. I consider three feasible choices for the labor relations policy. First choice is to take no action, which would result in the decline of the trade union power. Second choice is the compulsory establishment of the employees representative system. I disagree with this plan, because employees' organization would be made by employers and not by employees in many cases. Third choice is the empowerment of the trade union by new legal theory.I support the third choice. In this research, I have examined the legal character of non-union employees' concerted activities for the purposes of the mutual aid. My major findings are as follows : 1) The employees' activities are protected if they intends to be a member of a 'community union'. 2)Activities such as representation for employees and grievance-raising which are related to workplace conditions are regarded as concerted activities. However, the Japanese Unfair Labor Practice System does not protect these activities as union activities.