Toward more institutionalized labour-management dialogue - ILO joins Asian Automotive Trade Union Conference hosted by JAW

TOKYO (ILO News)—The Confederation of Japan Automobile Workers' Unions (JAW, President: Akihiro Kaneko), a nationwide organization consisting of trade unions in Japan’s automotive industry, held the Sixth Asian Auto Workers' Unions Conference online on 21 April 2025. A specialist in workers’ activities and other staff members attended from the ILO.

JAW has been holding this conference since 2013, with the aim of building a global network of trade unions in the automotive industry. This year’s conference, marking its sixth, was attended by unions from eight countries and regions in Asia, including Japan, Thailand, and Indonesia, as well as the global union federation IndustriALL.

Yuki Kobayashi from the ILO Office for Japan joined the event as one of the presenters and stressed that workers’ rights are human rights. She also highlighted the ubiquitous nature of human rights due diligence – the process of identifying and addressing human rights violation risks in corporate activities and supply chains – saying, “This term may sound like a new concept, but it is closely tied to unions’ daily efforts to promote worker rights.” Also, Yuki Otsuji, a specialist at the Bureau for Workers’ Activities of the ILO, emphasized the importance of establishing systematic dialogue, as opposed to one-off events, saying, “When having dialogue in global supply chains, trade unions need to be always recognized as legitimate stakeholders and be involved so that workers’ voices are heard.”

The event was also attended by Mr Georg Leutert, Director of automotive and aerospace industries and head office staff of IndustriALL in Geneva. Referring to the development of legal frameworks in Europe, he said, “... human rights due diligence is no longer voluntary. Companies must engage with us, but we also have to shout out to make ourselves heard to play a major role.” Mr Tsuyoshi Kasuya from JAW explained “‘20-30 Visions’ of JAW’s international activities” and emphatically said, “It aims to ensure the basic workers' rights, build constructive labour-management relations and foster sound and sustainable corporate growth.” He also said, “Global and close collaboration between trade unions is the key to enhancing the effectiveness of human rights due diligence in global supply chains.”

Finally, President Kaneko of JAW gave a closing speech, saying, “The automotive industry is expected to possibly undergo a structural change toward sustainable and carbon-neutral society, though varying between countries and regions.” He concluded the conference by pointing out, “Trade unions have a great, important role in ensuring basic human rights of our colleagues working in the industry, toward realizing a society where people can continue working happily in fulfilling, humane lives.”