The Canon Group has approximately 119,000 employees worldwide. Of these, approximately 20,000 work for Canon Inc., with Japanese employees accounting for about 43% of all Group employees.
Also, in recent years there has been an increase in employees from other parts of Asia as Canon moves more of its manufacturing to these regions. With this change in the employee make-up, each Canon Group company is establishing and operating its own human resource management system that respects the laws, working environment, culture and other facets of the host country and region. Also, sincere efforts are made to work amicably with labor unions and other such organizations.
In Japan, in addition to maintaining positive employee-management relations through the Canon Workers Union, Group companies have formed the Canon Group Workers’ Union Conference. In Europe, group companies in EU countries join the Labor-Management Council Meeting at the Pan-European Level.
Production training at Canon (Suzhou) Inc. (China)
Canon Inc. Employee-Management Relations
Canon has adopted a union shop system for its workers’ union and, as of the end of 2006, membership in the Canon Workers’ Union stood at 16,936, representing 73% of the company’s workforce.
At the monthly Central Worker/Management Conference, representatives from management and workers share opinions and information on a variety of relevant issues. Special committees have been established to consider such topics as wages, working hours, family benefits, and health and safety issues. Based on such conferences, new systems are established and policies carried out.
All Canon Group companies manage human resources in compliance with the laws and social norms of each country and region in which they operate, as well as Canon’s own company regulations. No Group company has ever been in violation of laws relating to child labor, forced labor, or compulsory labor anywhere in the world.
The Canon Group Code of Conduct promotes individual respect and prohibits discrimination and sexual harassment.
We strive to maintain a fair, comfortable, and safe working environment by having zero tolerance for any discrimination based on race, religion, nationality, sex or age. This applies to all management and non-management employees, no matter what their rank or duties, and to all matters of human resource policy.
Supporting Success for Women
Besides hiring and treating employees in a fair manner regardless of gender, Canon makes no distinction between career-track employees and general employees. We also place importance on fostering the careers and activities of women, and are actively promoting the creation of an environment in which motivated women can flourish over the long term.
As of the end of 2006, the average length of service at Canon was 16.3 years for men and 16.4 for women. There are also 144 women who hold positions at the level of assistant manager or higher, a 14.3% increase over the previous year.
Measures to Support Working Women (and Measures that Include Men) at Canon Inc.
Making Subsidiaries and Affiliates a Part of the Local Community
In efforts to build locally based management systems, Canon is appointing appropriate personnel, regardless of nationality, as presidents of marketing companies. As of the end of 2006, about 80% of subsidiaries and affiliates in Europe had locally hired presidents.
Hiring the Physically Challenged
With respect for the ideal of normalization as advocated by the United Nations, Canon does its utmost to include the physically challenged when hiring new graduates and mid-career workers. These workers are employed in companies throughout the Canon Group, where they work with other employees in a cooperative environment that brings out the best of their abilities. Canon Inc. has maintained its percentage of physically challenged employees in excess of the 1.8% figure required under employment laws.
Re-employment After Retirement
Canon Inc., which in 1977 became one of the first companies in Japan to set the retirement age at 60, introduced in 1982 a system for re-employing retired employees until the age of 63. In 2000, we revised our recruitment system for re-employment, and boosted this upper limit to 65 in 2007.
Through the aggressive promotion of such strategies, we seek to build a workplace environment that enables veteran employees to put valuable years of experience and knowledge to work and attain vitality in their later years.
In 2006, 73 of the 211 who reached retirement age chose re-employment, and by the end of that year 177 were working under this system.
Canon Inc. operates under the maxim of prioritizing compliance in all its operations. In recent years problematic employment practices, known as “deceptive contracting,” have become a growing social issue in Japan. In August 2006, Canon Inc. established the Promotion of Proper External Personnel Management Committee, headed by the President, to ensure proper management of contract workers.
The committee considers optimal employment structures as one of its activities, and has begun reviewing manufacturing divisions’ direct employment plans.
Manufacturing divisions have been proactive in their efforts to employ personnel directly, in order to pass on manufacturing technologies and skills and ensure or improve product quality. By 2008, we will conduct an overall review of direct employment plans and substantially expand this practice. We have decided to hire a total of 5,000 direct employees at production sites across the Group by the end of 2008. Employment will be offered after a general examination to determine each applicant’s skills and suitability.
In addition, to maintain and improve relations with the contracting and dispatch companies that support Canon’s production, we will continue to promote the appropriate employment of external personnel as well as implementing direct employment measures.
In order to create a system that aims for fairness and impartiality based on equal opportunity, in 2001 Canon Inc. implemented a position-based pay system for all employees at the managerial level and above. In 2005, the system was expanded to include all employees.
In a position-based pay system, employees are compensated according to what their job entails. Pay scales are based on the ranking of a person’s job title, which depends on such factors as the level of difficulty and amount of responsibility. Where employees fall within the pay scale depends on individual performance, not age or seniority. There is also a bonus system linked to individual and company performance.
Canon U.S.A. and Canon Europe, and other group companies in North America and Europe, have implemented a pay system based on job duties that is compatible with local culture and practices. This is being gradually introduced at Asian operational sites as well.
| 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| People who have taken child-care leave | 138 | 113 | 107 | 113 | 86 | 94 |
| People who have taken nursing-care leave | 25 | 12 | 18 | 7 | 12 | 9 |
| Internal recruiting/non-management | 107 | 163 | 128 | 120 | 49 | 64 |
| Internal recruiting/management* | 4 | 24 | 7 | 2 | 7 | 13 |
* The internal recruiting system for management positions was introduced in October 2001.
Canon Europe employs some 10,000 people across 30 countries with widely disparate languages and cultures. Once a year we conduct an attitude survey to gain a better understanding of the customer orientation and job satisfaction of our diverse workforce. The results, which are made available to all employees, are used to initiate improvements.
10 Principal Survey Topics
