Foreign workers staged a rally in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo, on March 9 as part of their annual spring labor offensive, calling for proper and equal treatment on par with Japanese working conditions.

Demonstrators March in Shibuya, Tokyo, on March 9. JAPAN TIMES PHOTO

Hundreds gathered for the annual "March in March" event.

"Employers must begin to treat foreigners as equal as Japanese, and give them job security and equality," said Louis Carlet, deputy general secretary of the National Union of General Workers Tokyo Nambu, which jointly organized the rally with Japanese labor unions.

Carlet said before the event the major problems with foreigners' working conditions include lack of job security and proper participation in social insurance programs, such as for pension and health care.

Carlet said Japan has become an international country and needs foreign labor. But this has nothing to do with trampling on Japanese workers, he said, because many Japanese face similar issues.

It is important to understand that "it's not a competition between Japanese and foreign workers. In fact, we want to create a society based on cooperation and not competition."

The event attracted many Japanese as well. Nobuyuki Morokuma, secretary general of the Tokyo branch of the Zenrokyo labor union, said working conditions for foreigners must be improved because some of them may not be getting the minimum wage, much less overtime pay.

The props for the rally included signs, flags and also a casket to draw attention to the failure of Nova Corp., the language-school chain that went bust last year, leaving thousands of teachers jobless.