Public servant reform plan a double-edged sword
There are doubts whether bills related to national government employee system reform can function as expected.
The bills would give general government employees--excluding, for example, senior officials of ministries, agencies, police and the Japan Coast Guard--the right to negotiate and conclude agreements on working conditions. Like private company employees, they would be given the right to decide on their pay and working hours through labor-management negotiations. This is the pillar of the bills.
Gen. Douglas MacArthur of the General Headquarters of the Allied Powers restricted fundamental labor rights of government employees for fear that the labor movement would intensify in postwar Japan. In return, a system was introduced for the National Personnel Authority to decide on pay levels for national public servants to keep them in line with private-sector levels. The implementation of the bills would be the biggest reform effort since introduction of the current system.
The government was right to exclude the right to strike in the bills. This focal point should be considered after the new national government employee system has taken root.
Will labor-management negotiations be effective?
A public servant agency to be established as an external organization of the Cabinet Office following abolition of the National Personnel Authority will serve as a channel for negotiations with labor unions. If negotiations do not proceed smoothly, the Central Labor Relations Commission, an external organization of the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry, would serve as mediator or an arbiter.
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Steeper pay cuts possible?
The government led by the Democratic Party of Japan believes payrolls for public servants can be cut more steeply through labor-management negotiations than under the current NPA arbitration system. Once they are given the right to negotiate and conclude labor-management agreements, labor unions are hardly likely to understand the severe fiscal situation and accept pay cuts.
The NPA's arbitration was conducted regularly in the case of the defunct Japanese National Railways, whose labor unions were given the right to conclude a labor-management agreement. Even allowing for changing times, if such a practice was repeated under the projected national government employee system, it would end up being reform in name only.
The major goal of the envisioned reform is to achieve an efficient administration by encouraging both labor and management to act more responsibly. But would the cost in both time and money lead to administrative stagnation?
National government employees belong to various labor unions, including those affiliated with the Japanese Trade Union Confederation (Rengo) and the National Confederation of Trade Unions (Zenroren). If one union concludes a labor-management agreement, what about arbitrary decisions accepted by other unions? Would they prove effective?
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Diet has final say
Even if a labor-management accord is hammered out, the Diet has the final say in deciding pay for national public servants. If the Diet rejects the result of negotiations, labor-management bargaining will be a mere facade.
The reform plan includes establishment of a cabinet personnel affairs bureau under which personnel matters of top bureaucrats will be decided. The bureau will consider the eligibility of bureaucrats and people who apply for high-ranking posts and decide on personnel matters reflecting the intentions of the cabinet.
This is aimed at deciding personnel resources without being influenced by sectional interests at government offices. But it is not an easy task to determine the abilities of about 800 bureaucrats and ensure fair and appropriate distribution of posts among them.
The ruling and opposition parties should determine and discuss problems thoroughly so the national government employee system reform will not shake the foundations of Japan.
New law a key weapon in fight against intl cybercrime
The creation of computer viruses, which had effectively been left unchecked, has at last come within the reach of law enforcement.
A bill to revise the Penal Code to criminalize the creation of computer viruses has passed the Diet and become law.
Under the revised Penal Code, a person who creates or distributes a computer virus without justification can be sentenced to up to three years in prison or fined up to 500,000 yen.
There had previously been no law directly criminalizing the creation of a computer virus. When investigative authorities found someone who had spread a computer virus by attaching it to a cartoon image, for instance, their only recourse was to handle the case as a violation of the Copyright Law for infringing the copyright of the cartoon.
We hope investigative authorities will do their utmost to deter crime by making full use of the new legal weapon.
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High-profile attacks increasing
Several government bodies and private companies have recently been targeted by cyberterrorists. In many cases, the attackers attempt to expose classified information or cripple computer systems by using a virus.
The United States is increasing its vigilance against cyber-attacks, suspecting that such countries as China might have been involved in these organized assaults.
The latest legislation will be the first step to enable Japan to respond to these crimes, which occur frequently and transcend national borders, in cooperation with the international community.
Major Western countries have already joined the Convention on Cybercrime. They cooperate closely in sharing investigative information and extraditing suspects to other member countries.
Japan has now established domestic laws to crack down on cybercrime. We think Japan should join the international treaty quickly.
It is important for Japan to cooperate with Western countries and increase monitoring of cybercrime. Such efforts will not only deter cybercriminals but also countries suspected to be involved in cyberterrorism.
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Clear definitions needed
Some members of the Internet industry are concerned the new law could see people who create a virus to develop software to fight viruses, or who inadvertently make flawed software, accused of committing a crime.
The Justice Ministry says these cases would not constitute the crime of producing a virus. To ensure computer engineers do not lose their motivation, the ministry needs to clearly define what acts are illegal and explain this in detail.
Together with the Penal Code revision, the Criminal Procedure Code has been revised, making it possible for investigative authorities to transfer necessary data from a personal computer to storage media and confiscate them, and to ask an Internet service provider to preserve telecommunication records.
Efficiently collecting evidence will enable the early exposure of cybercrime. It also will help prevent possible damage caused by virus infections from spreading.
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