The Termination of the Individual Labour Contract

Abstract

Article 27, Sect. 1 of the Constitution provides the right to work as a fundamental human right of the Japanese people. This is interpreted as meaning that the Government has a political obligation to try and provide jobs for all those who are willing to work. The obligation to work imposed by the same provision is interpreted as meaning that, with regard to those who are able to work but who do not want to, the Government has no obligation to assure them of the ‘wholesome and cultured life’ which is guaranteed by Art. 25 of the Constitution. Under Art. 27, the Government should take the necessary measures to guarantee jobs: such as public employment agencies, public works to provide work for the unemployed, a training scheme to improve the workers’ chances of getting better jobs and finally an unemployment insurance scheme. All these measures are put into effect by a number of laws — including the Employment Measures Law of 1966, Employment Security Law of 1947, Emergency Unemployment Countermeasures Law of 1949, Occupational Training Law of 1969, Employment Insurance Law of 1974 and other special laws to promote the employment of the old and the handicapped and to give job security to workers in certain industries such as the ports and coal-mining — and by orders of the Labour Ministry to provide re-training benefits for workers who have been dismissed from depressed industries such as textiles, the ports and fishing.