Seven & i Holdings respects the right of workers to associate freely and organize themselves, and to bargain collectively. The Corporate Action Guidelines have stipulated that we recognize workers’ rights to organize themselves based on international guidelines and that we are committed to dialogue with employees regarding maintenance of the working environment.

There are 11* labor unions in the Group, forming the Federation of Seven & i Group Labor Unions (63,000 union members as of September 2014). The labor unions maintain independence while keeping in contact and exchanging information about organizational management, labor conditions, and so forth.

The Ito-Yokado labor union has adopted a union shop system* where all employees join the labor union except for those who are not eligible, such as managers and executive management. This labor union has around 35,800 members as of June 2015, making it the largest in the Group. (The total participation rate of all employees in the union, excluding students working part time, is 75.7%).

The labor union takes in opinions from a wide range of members, and holds round table meetings at each branch to bring up employees’ concerns in labor-management negotiations. The round table meetings enable both sides to talk about the working environment within the company, as well as issues regarding sales. For example, in the fiscal year ended February 28, 2015, there were opinions about undertaking sales promotion activities from the customers’ perspective. (The total number of participants in roundtable meetings in the fiscal year ended February 28, 2015 was 33,614). Ito-Yokado respects the activities of the labor union and makes arrangements regarding work shifts and so forth to help union members attend union activities.

Ito-Yokado and the labor union work together to solve various issues relating to labor conditions and employees’ working environments through numerous active discussions between labor and management. For example, they have started a collaborative project to improve work conditions and encourage employees to take holidays and leave, and to cut back long working hours.

Labor-management negotiations in the fiscal year ended February 28, 2015 focused on examining and revising personnel systems, including wage revisions and bonuses. Eleven labor-management agreements were concluded, including revision of the childcare assistance system and partial revision of the personnel system for part time staff.