에너지혁명기 일본 석탄산업의 노동운동

The Labor Movement of Japanese Coal-mining Industry during the Energy Revolution: A Case Study of Tanro`s Struggle for Coal Policies

Tanro, the largest and most robust labor union in the Japanese coal-mining industry, fiercely resisted the radical rationalization of coal-mining companies during the Energy Revolution. Two separate labor struggles characterized this resistance. First, the Miike Dispute(1959-1960), the biggest labor dispute after WWII, set the stage for the Struggle for Coal Policies(Seisaku-tenkan-touso, 1960-1963). At the Miike Dispute, full-time employment was the most important issue, however, at the Struggle for Coal Policies, protection from the competition with substitute energy, i.e. petroleum, and support for unemployed miners and their communities were the central issues. In this way, the Struggle for Coal Policies was the first labor movement to acknowledge industry decline. However, the Struggle for Coal Policies failed to protect the industry. Although the struggle resulted in some support to unemployed miners and their communities, these changes unintendedly accelerated the retirement and outflow of miners to other industries, weakening the labor movement. The Struggle for Coal Policies focused on government negotiations and resulted in union stagnation, failing to maximize the energy of labor at the workshops.