2006 01 (summer)

Page 1

Inside the “Voice”     News

from

the

General

Union

-NUGW Tokyo NambuBerlitz teachers took home larger-than-usual paychecks this past February, thanks to union members who went on strike last summer in protest against a pay freeze. The strike ended with a labor-management agreement guaranteeing full back-pay for the 2005 salary increase, which teachers received as a lump sum in Febru-

(Kansai

&

Tokai),

NUGW

Tokyo

South,

Fukuoka

General

Union

ary 2006. This dispute, bringing together long-time unionists and new members, showed the power of solidarity, a lesson which Begunto (Nambu's Berlitz branch) will carry into this year's negotiations. Shunto negotiations in 2006 have focused on paid preparation time and transportation costs. Advanced teaching materials were

introduced in 2004, without adequate training, forcing teachers to choose between trying to read the manual during the lesson (leading to student complaints and lower evaluation scores), or doing the prep on a volunteer basis (for the benefit of Benesse's billionaire CEO Fukutake Soichiro – Benesse is Berlitz's parent firm). Manage-

-General UnionDemand that schools consult with your union regarding any changes to your employment by winning a ‘prior consultation agreement’. A Jizen Kyogi (JK) agreement is a ‘prior consultation’ agreement between the union and the employer which usually means that no change in union members’ working conditions should be made without first consulting the union. This does not mean that your employer cannot change your working conditions if the union disagrees, but it does put an end to unilateral deci-

sions made at the last minute. How will things change with a JK agreement? ‘Working conditions’ include wages, working hours, place of work, health insurance, pensions, etc. Koma (number of classes) for part time teachers and working hours for part time staff are also considered to be included in ‘working conditions’. All these issues are cause for great concern for full and part time teachers and staff on one

(see Berlitz – pg. 4)

This article was deleted under the terms of an agreement between that company and the General Union.

(see Jizen Kyogi Campagin – pg. 2)

– Tel: 03-3434-0669 Fax: 03-3433-0334 carlet@jca.apc.org

Tel: 06-6352-9619 Fax: 06-6352-9630 Tokai Tel/Fax: 052-561-8555 Kansai: gu@generalunion.org Tokai: tokai@generlaunion.org

Tel/Fax: 092-473-1222 fukuoka@generalunion.org


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