http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstStory/index.php?storyid=377769
G-8 ministers start 3-day talks on eco-friendly labor practices
NIIGATA, Japan, May 11 KYODO
Group of Eight labor ministers began a three-day meeting Sunday in the Sea
of Japan port city of Niigata to discuss environmentally-friendly ways of
working to help curb climate change and measures to redress economic and
regional inequalities.
This is the first time that discussions linking labor issues with
environmental policies have been attempted within the G-8 framework, and the
participants are to aim to give impetus to consensus-building on the climate
change issue at the G-8 summit in July in Hokkaido, according to the Japanese
Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.
Under the theme, labor ministers from the G-8 nations -- Britain, Canada,
France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States -- seek to find
ways to cut back carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions in
workplaces.
Japan apparently hopes to contribute to the discussions, taking advantage
of its expertise accumulated through such initiatives as the so-called ''Cool
Biz'' no-tie, no-jacket campaign during summer, which was launched in 2005 in
an effort to save energy by cutting down on the use of air conditioners and
subsequently lower CO2 emissions.
To modify labor markets in line with climate changes, the ministry says
that labor should be smoothly transferred from, for example, ski resorts that
suffer declining snowfall, a global warming phenomenon, to other industries
such as tourism.
The first day of the meeting began with talks between the ministers and
labor and management groups, in which the labor-management side is expected to
call on the ministers to improve labor markets that are increasingly unstable
and where the number of part-time workers with less social protection is
growing.
Full-fledged ministerial talks will start Monday, at which they are set to
discuss measures to enable a healthy work-life balance amid increased life
spans within the G-8 economies and to rectify disparities stemming from
globalization.
Japanese labor minister Yoichi Masuzoe serves as chairman for the meeting,
while Yoko Kamikawa, Japanese state minister in charge of declining birthrates
and gender equality issues, attends part of the scheduled discussions.
The meeting will end Tuesday with a chairman's statement set to be issued,
in which the participants are expected to agree to ensure harmony between labor
and environmental policies, according to its draft obtained by Kyodo News.
They are also seen to agree on the importance of accelerating job creation
through the use of local resources and of promoting participation of local
governments and nonprofit organizations, the draft says.
In addition to the G-8 nations, the European commissioner in charge of
employment, the heads of the International Labor Organization and the
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development are also taking part in
the meeting.
Thailand and Indonesia are invited to attend an outreach dialogue.
==Kyodo
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