Inside the “Voice” Seiha and Fukuoka General Union Union/Interac settlement reached Okayama BofE sued by union Health and matters
S p r i n g News
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After the Osaka Labour Commission issued a ruling that Gaba instructors were employees under trade union law in December 2009, Gaba appealed this to the Central Labour Commission in Tokyo. Despite the labour commission ruling that the company had held collective bargaining with the General Union, the company was so unhappy with the recognition that its instructors had union rights under the Trade Union Law that in January 2010 it appealed. Why? Because they feared that this recognition of workers’ rights under the Trade Union Law would lead to employee rights in the future, i.e. paid leave, insurance, etc. The Central Labour Commission in Tokyo held several hearings, and suggested several times that GABA should make some kind of
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compromise to the union. This was not forthcoming, and in October 2010 the Central Labour Commission rejected Gaba's appeal, stating that it had "no merit" and that the company, which had not been penalized in any way by the Osaka Labour Commission, could not appeal to have the wording changed. In November 2010, unhappy with this rebuff from the Central Labour Commission, GABA decided to sue. As the Central Labour Commission is a government body under the authority of the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare, this means they are suing the Japanese government. GABA refuses to accept the reality that the Labour Commissions have recognized that GABA instructors are not independent contractors, but are indeed employees and therefore
For part-timers in particular, working at universities and private schools, a lack of job security is a very big problem. For years the General Union has been advocating a proactive approach to members in fighting against koma cuts and worsening working conditions. When the word comes down that you have lost (See ‘Hands off’ – pg. 3)
General Union – Kansai & Tokai
NUGW Tokyo Nambu Tel: 03-3434-0669 Fax: 03-3433-0334 nugw_ts@jca.apc.org www.nugwnambu.org
National
Tel: 06-6352-9619 Fax: 06-6352-9630 Tokai Tel/Fax: 052-561-8555 union@generalunion.org www.generalunion.org
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have a right to submit demands and grievances to the company and collectively bargain for work-place improvements. The first court hearing was held in Tokyo district court on Wednesday January 19th and is ongoing. The case is likely to take some time to be resolved. Gaba has decided that suing the Japanese government is preferable to sitting down and talking to its own employees.
Is it in your employment contract that your second semester class (and your pay) could be cancelled? The General Union has found this cropping up more and more and is intent on stopping this practice, and recently we did. A member at Tezukayama University approached the union with this very problem. After trying to talk with the employer the problem was taken up with the Nara Labour Standards Office and the university was directed to pay 60% of the wages during the period. Let us know if you have a similar issue.
Fukuoka General Union Tel/Fax: 092-473-1222 fukuoka@generalunion.org www.fukuoka.generalunion.org
General
Workers
National Union Voice
In 2010, 11 employees of Seiha English Academy joined the Fukuoka General Union (FGU). The foreign and Japanese teachers contacted the FGU for assistance and guidance regarding issues such as illegal contracts, unpaid overtime, age discrimination, power harassment and the reimbursement of teacher expenses. Since joining the FGU the Seiha branch members of the FGU have held at least 3 collective bargaining sessions with Seiha management and have been successful in bringing attention to Seiha's work place violations of Japanese labour laws. Some breaches that have been rectified are the abolition of penalties for being late, compulsory purchasing of work uniforms and numerous translation errors in the contract translation. Action by the union also led to pay rises for most of the foreign teachers (pay rises promised in the contract that were put on the shelf until the FGU demanded them). However, Seiha continues to breach
National Union Voice3) the Labour Standards Law (article by creating a special set of foreign teacher work rules that provide worse conditions than the work rules for Japanese staff. The Labour Standards office have said this is illegal but Seiha will not delete these special condition for “gaijin teachers”. Seiha also continues to change the content of the company work rules without the knowledge or consent of employees which is another breach of the Labor Standards Law (Article 90). The Seiha branch of the FGU encourages other Seiha employees (foreign and Japanese) not only in Fukuoka but also elsewhere in Japan to contact the General Union regarding any trouble or grievances they may be experiencing in the work place. We plan to further improve our working conditions in 2011 through dialogue between the FGU and Seiha management. Hopefully Seiha branch members will also be able to assist fellow FGU members from other companies in 2011 as well.
Workplace health and safety awareness in language schools nationwide is quite low. Each spring the General Union ECC branch submits demands to make ECC a safer place to work. A spate of fires nationwide prompted the union to demand that ECC ensure emergency evacuation procedures be made clear. Fatalities increase when emergency exits are not clearly marked and where there are no clear evacuation procedures. ECC management has acknowledged that the safety of its employees and students is important, and accepted union demands for emergency evacuation maps and emergency gathering points be clearly outlined
The union’s demands to raise safety awareness in the company have been relatively successful. From March, this year, all schools will have first aid kits, and a medical supplier has been appointed to regularly check and replace the contents. All school directors must attend company-sponsored courses on fire management. Despite achievements, emergency evacuation procedures are still not being conveyed to all teachers. In a recent union survey, all but one school director had explained the evacuation procedures at their school. Our sister union, National Union of General Workers- Tokyo, has reported that immediately after the
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Spring 2011
そして、「解雇が有効だから、岡 本技研もしくは三原精工のいず れが使用者か、判断するまでもな い。」と切り捨てました。 労働者を解雇したのが誰かを判 断せずして、どうしたら解雇が有 効との結論に行き着くのでしょ うか？労働法の初歩すら分から ない山田知司裁判長（前大阪地裁 堺支部長、現高知地裁所長）の法 律知識には、開いた口がふさがり ません。 こんな無茶苦茶な判決が確定す ると、これからはどんな理由であ っても、労働者を好き放題に解雇 出来るようになってしまいます。 私たちゼネラルユニオンは、労働 者の権利を踏みにじるこんな不 当判決を断じて許しません。地裁 堺支部の不当判決を粉砕すべく、 本日、私たちは高裁へ控訴するこ とを決意しました！ 次は大阪高裁で逆転勝利を掴む べく奮闘しますので、今後とも、 皆さんのご支援をよろしくお願 い致します。 March 11th earthquake the whole Kanto district was thrown into absolute chaos, with some school directors even refusing to let teachers leave the building. The General Union is extremely concerned that in an earthquake prone country, district and area managers have failed to comply with headquarter directives. The union is now demanding that ECC ensure that all workers receive proper instruction. Are there health and safety concerns in your workplace? It’s too late to deal with once something happens. Contact us today.
National Union Voice National Union Voice General Union Interac members are set to benefit from a settlement brokered by the Central Labour Commission, on February 28, 2011. Interac has agreed to negotiate with the union in good faith. We believe that this is the start of a new relationship between Interac and the General Union インタラックは、教育委員会から ALT 受託業務を受けている最大手 ですが、会社は、大阪府労働委員 会の命令に対して、中央労働委員
classes, it may already be too late. While not impossible, it is difficult for us as a union to reverse a decision to reduce the koma of a part-time teacher in December or January, once the decision has been taken by a faculty to do so. We have always stressed in our information to members the importance of identifying possible problems before they arise and contacting the union office about them. One thing the union has already done in many workplaces is to win what we call ‘pre-consultation agreements’. These agreements the employer to contact the union for consultation prior to making changes
会へ再審査申立をしていました。 しかし、２０１１年２月２８日に 中央労働委員会が呈示した「和解 勧告案」をゼネラルユニオンと会 社双方が受託したことから、労使 の和解合意が成立致しました。 合意書そのものの掲示はできま せんが、円満な和解内容となって おります。 今後、ゼネラルユニオンは、他社 に雇用される ALT の労働条件向上 に向け、行動する決意です。
in members’ conditions. The problem with this is that while some employers are willing to really consult, others consider it to be a place where they tell the union their plans, not negotiate. Last year we have taken our pro active approach one step further. At the end of the first semester we declared our members at Hannan, Kobe Shoin, Handai and Kobe Shinwa universities and submitted demands for no cut in koma and no worsening of working conditions. At a number of these universities there had been rumours of koma cuts, or other threats to our members’ living standards. In the end, at least as far as our members were concerned, not one of these threats materialized and all of the members we declared to the university had unchanged koma and working conditions. At other universities, such as Setsunan, where the General Union has a pre-consultation agreement, we were successfully able to minimize problems caused by a change in the days of some language classes. Not just in universities either. One of our high school members who had undergone cuts in the past, was left alone this year once the union made
Spring 2011
After many years of service as elementary school ALTs, two union members were notified by Okayama City Board of Education that their contracts would be terminated as of March 31, 2011. The union immediately requested negotiations with the Board of Education but they have repeatedly refused to meet. This has left the union with no other option but to lodge an unfair labor practice case at the Osaka Labor Commission.
a demand that no classes be cut from his part time schedule. For the 2011 academic year we would like to use the approach on a larger scale to cover more union members. Universities, generally speaking, do not want to pick a fight with the General Union if they can avoid it. Declaring your membership and the union submitting demands on your behalf to your university or school, is in our opinion the best way for members to safeguard their employment and working conditions. The General Union Schools and Colleges Branch will be holding a meeting on May 14th to discuss submitting demands at Universities for next year. Please come and see if this strategy is best for you and your coworkers. If it is, talk to the others about joining the union and doing it together as a group. Don’t wait until it’s too late. Take control of your own working life.
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ゼ ネ ラ ル ユ ニ オ ン ( 関 西 ・ 東 海 ) 、 全 国 一 般 東 京 南 部 、 福 岡 ゼ ネ ラ ル ユ ニ オ ン
大阪府労働委員会命令「ガバ講師 は個人請負でなく労働者」が確 定。中央労働委員会が「ＧＡＢＡ 社の異議=再審査申立は不適法」 と門前払い【却下】 ガバ社は、ほとんどの外国人講師 を「雇用」として扱わず、個人委 託させている。大阪府労委は証人 や証拠に基づき、慎重に審理した 結果、2009 年 12 月に「ガバ講師 に労働者性あり」との判断を下し た。結果、労基法や社会保険や税 法など、会社の法違反が明白にな った。だが、会社は、中労委に再 審査を申立てた。 会社の迷走は破綻の連続であ った。ゼネラルユニオンガバ支部 から団交を要求された当時、会社 は「従業員でないから団交義務ナ シ」と言えず、労使交渉を続けて きた。しかし最終的に、そこでの、
年休や社会保険要求を全部拒否 し、おまけに、「これまでの交渉 は団交でなく、単なる話合いであ った」との苦しい決裂をしてしま った。そのためユニオンは、「団 交は不誠実」と不当労働行為で訴 えたのだ。 府労委は、 「ガバ講師は労働者で、 団交義務あり」との判断を下す一 方、 「しかしこれも団交であった」 と、ユニオンの申立を棄却？し た。これに困った会社は、「判断 変更」を求めた再審査申立で、中 労委に駆け込んだ。 が、中労委は労使からのヒアリ ングを経て、2010 年 10 月６日、 「会社の再審査申立は不適法な もとして却下」と断罪し、「初審 命令は、会社に対して何らの不利 益も課していない」「救済命令等 の理由中の判断に不服があるに
過ぎない場合は、再審査申立は許 されない」などの画期的判断を下 し、門前払いとした。この決定は、 労働者性判断の変更ではなく、 「会社の再申立は、前例もなく権 限もない」という資格・手続判断 からきているため、会社側は、労 働者性の判断などで、行政訴訟な どもできない袋小路に入ってし まった。 ガバは有価証券報告書虚偽記載 で、証券取引等監視委員会に通報 されたが、その後、ジャパンタイ ムズも「講師が従業員でない」と のスキャンダルをページ全面で 掲載し、一方、ゼネラルユニオン の闘いを紹介した。gaba の経営も 行き詰まっているかもしれない が、こういう時こそ、リスクを回 避し、まともな雇用契約への一斉 切替を急ぐべきである。
「組合つぶし」で闘っている岡本 技研で、大阪地裁堺支部（裁判 長：山田知司）は「解雇有効」と の不当判決を下しました。 そもそも、本事件は、岡本技研の 構内下請けと称する幽霊会社「三 原精工」所属とされていた労働者 が、2009 年 2 月末で、「不良品を 作った」との理由で解雇されたも のです。 組合から岡本技研へ「解雇撤回」
を求めると、会社は不良品以外 に、「ペットボトルを高速道路へ 投げ込んだ」、 「酒の臭いをさせて 就労していた」、 「油のついた作業 靴を履いたままトイレを使い、ト イレを汚した」と解雇理由を付け 加えました。 当該労働者としては、結果として 不良品が発生したことは認めて いましたが、その他はいずれも事 実無根と主張しました。そして、
私たちは、「三原精工は実態がな い。岡本技研が真の使用者だ。」 として、岡本技研を相手として、 「解雇無効」を求めて提訴しまし た。 地裁堺支部は、会社側証人の陳述 書や証言を鵜呑みにし、当該労働 者のことを、「問題ばかり起こす 輩だから、解雇されても仕方な い。」と、判断したのです。 (続き -1 ページ)
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