The National Union of General Workers (NUGW) is the shortened, English title of the National Union of General Workers National Council ( 全国一般労働組合全国協議会 ''Zenkoku Ippan Roudou Kumiai Zenkoku Kyogikai''), a national

labour union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits (su ...

council established in 1991. NUGW is affiliated to the National Trade Union Council (全国労働組合連絡協議会 ''Zenrokyo''), the smallest of the three national labour federations in Japan. As of September 2010 the NUGW had around 7000 members. The NUGW acts as an

umbrella organization An umbrella organization is an association of (often related, industry-specific) institutions who work together formally to coordinate activities and/or pool resources. In business, political, and other environments, it provides resources and ofte ...

encompassing roughly 40

autonomous In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy, from , ''autonomos'', from αὐτο- ''auto-'' "self" and νόμος ''nomos'', "law", hence when combined understood to mean "one who gives oneself one's ow ...

general union A general union is a trade union (called ''labor union'' in American English) which represents workers from all industries and companies, rather than just one organisation or a particular sector, as in a craft union or industrial union. A gene ...

s and trade unions, including the National Union of General Workers Tokyo Nambu (often referred to as simply ''Nambu''), a union which represents workers in southern Tokyo and Eastern Japan; the National Union of General Workers, Tokyo (also known as Tokyo Union), which represents parts of Tokyo and Saitama Prefecture, the

General Union A general union is a trade union (called ''labor union'' in American English) which represents workers from all industries and companies, rather than just one organisation or a particular sector, as in a craft union or industrial union. A gene ...

, headquartered in

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

, representing Western Japan, and the Fukuoka General Union, representing Kyūshū. The union works to raise awareness of problems faced by all workers in Japan, including foreign/

migrant workers A migrant worker is a person who migrates within a home country or outside it to pursue work. Migrant workers usually do not have the intention to stay permanently in the country or region in which they work. Migrant workers who work outsi ...

, to improve members' working conditions and bargaining power and to inform members of their rights under Japanese labour law. Activities include strikes, rallies and leafleting, filing

injunctions An injunction is a legal and equitable remedy in the form of a special court order that compels a party to do or refrain from specific acts. ("The court of appeals ... has exclusive jurisdiction to enjoin, set aside, suspend (in whole or in par ...

and arguing cases at Labour Commissions and District Courts on issues such as fixed-term contracts, the non-enrollment of employees into Social Insurance, illegal outsourcing of Assistant Language Teachers by public schools, and unfair dismissals due to one-year contracts.

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See also