2012 02 (summer)

Inside the “Voice”  Open meeting for school teachers  Strike plans  Job security and wage demands  Private language schools update  S u m m e r News

from

the

General

Union

(Kansai

&

Tokai),

NUGW

Tokyo

South,

Fukuoka

2 0 1 2

General

Union

“Scandalous” is the only word that comes to mind. At a time when the government has raised the consumption tax to deal with future social security needs, millions of workers across the country are denied the right to be enrolled in shakai hoken (health and pension insurance) by the very government that foresees future shortfalls.

We can understand that private companies don’t want to enroll, but why doesn’t the government follow its own rules and force enrollment?

To this end, the General Union has now sued the government for failure to enforce its own laws and allow part time workers to finally be enrolled in shakai hoken.

So what has the General Union done before taking this bold step? Direct

union action has seen some language schools and factories to clean up up their act. Now, among the major offenders are “dispatch” companies sending assistant language teachers (ALT) to public schools. So how are they able to skirt the law?

They take advantage of an internal Pension Agency memo, which can in no way supersedes the law (see pg. 4 for more information), which gives “about three-quarters of a full-timer’s working hours” as the threshold for enrollment (i.e., about thirty hours). So by simply giving a 29.5-hour contract, language schools and ALT dispatch companies are able to convince the Pension agency that there is no need to enroll their (see ‘Scandalous’ pg. 4)

For many years the General Union has had members at Elementary, Junior High and High Schools. More recently, the situation has become dire with a large number of consultations from private schools in particular. The falling number of school age students has led to a savage competition between schools, in particular private schools. School administrations have attempted to compete by-and-large by asking for longer hours and more commitment from teachers, while at the same time often worsening pay and conditions.

Amongst full time teachers this has resulted in the return of Saturday classes, as well as pressure on even (see ‘Taking back’ pg. 2)

While Peppy Kids Club doesn’t have the national profile of some other players in the language industry, they have been on the union’s radar for quite a few years. They are an expanding chain with over 400 native English-speaking teachers and more than 1600 Japanese teachers.

They have classrooms all across Japan and almost 100,000 students.

Over the years various questionable practices at the company have been

reported to us. Unfortunately, the numerous teachers who contacted us in the past just wanted to move on rather than stay and help improve things. But things changed this year when the union was contacted by a number of people, both Japanese and foreign, who wanted things to improve and were prepared to get involved to make that happen.

Peppy’s classrooms are spread over (see ‘Peppy’ pg. 3)

I am no longer an employee of Peppy Kids. However, it warms my heart that there is such action being taken to create a worker's union. I am an American citizen back in America now, but I still very much love Japan. I left Peppy Kids club, but I strongly feel that if there was a union in place, me and other people that I know would still be actively employed with Peppy Kids. As an (see ‘Letter’ pg. 4)

General Union – Kansai & Tokai

Fukuoka General Union

NUGW Tokyo Nambu Tel: 03-3434-0669 Fax: 03-3433-0334 nugw_ts@jca.apc.org www.nugwnambu.org

National e r s w w

Tel: 06-6352-9619 Fax: 06-6352-9630 Tokai Tel/Fax: 052-561-8555 union@generalunion.org www.generalunion.org

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

Union of General w . gGeneral e nUnion e r– Kansai a l u & n i

Workers o n . o r g

National Union Voice National Union Voice foreign teachers on one year contracts to take on time consuming responsibilities such as home-room teacher positions. While teachers have traditionally enjoyed more free-time than many groups of workers, for example in the summer breaks, this has been dramatically reduced at many schools and is under continual attack. It is not unusual for full-time teachers to be work throughout the summer break period.

The situation with unpaid overtime has become so bad that one General Union member working in a private high-school reported that the Labour Standard’s bureau had launched an investigation into his school over unpaid overtime. Another member graphically described the kind of working conditions of young teachers at his school. “One of the young full-timers was sick this week, but still at school, dead on her feet and unable to talk... Her schedule is 25 classes per week plus Saturdays and this is not unusual for the Japanese full-timers this year.

She comes to school at 7 a.m. and leaves at 9 p.m. every day, putting in between 60 and 70 hours per week. She won’t take any of her paid annual leave and only had three days holiday in total last year. She

ears ¥2 million a year... I think her hourly rate is not much more than 500 yen.”

It is arguable whether imposing such conditions on teachers will do much to help the survival prospects of the school. It certainly does little to promote the quality of education in the school.

While full-time teachers are under increasing pressure to work all hours part-time teachers are facing cuts in the number of classes and hence their income. It is not unusual for teachers to turn up for work at the beginning of the school year in April to find that their school doesn’t have any classes for them this year. In other schools management has taken the opportunity to cut the hourly rates that they pay for classes. In one case that the General Union is negotiating right now management are attempting to halve the hourly rate.

While as a union we have had a number of successes in maintaining the pay and conditions of our existing members we believe that a wider campaign of organizing in the schools is necessary to stop management attacks. For this reason the general union will be organizing an open session at its October general meeting aimed at workers in

Last week, the union had a great round of negotiations at one of the workplaces we represent.

We can't put out all the details yet, but we can tell you a little.

One member was stuck in a situation where the employer was unfairly trying to reduce his pay by 20% and put him on a part time contract because he had reached 60 years old.

The other members didn't say, "Thank God it's not me." They stuck by him, took a unanimous strike vote, and told him that they would be outside with him on a picket line

if the employer tried to do that. We even gained a new member who joined just to stand by his coworker.

For those leading the negotiations it was fantastic. Instead of having to try to compromise for a 10% pay cut, we held our ground, and basically told the employer that we would meet them in hell before we let this happen to even one member.

The problem isn't all solved yet, but there is an extension on his employment at 100% salary while we continue negotiations.

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Summer 2012

elementary, junior high and high schools, to discuss the situation in the schools. The meeting will be open to all and not limited to General Union members. We would ask all GU branches and members in the schools to make a special effort to ensure a big turnout for this meeting, come along and bring your colleagues too. A leaflet is being prepared for the meeting. If you want copies to distribute please let the General Union office know details of how many you need and where we should send them to.

General Union working at Panasonic Excel have submitted new demands for collective bargaining and hope to begin negotiations in July. Teachers joined the union in 2002 when they had unilaterally been moved from one employer to another inside the then Matsushita group and suffering a massive paycut. The new union branch was able to win back some of the cut wages for a short period but we have never been able to win back the cuts have never been beat and a wage freeze has been in place since.

The union was able to win certain right for teachers like recognition of employment status, paid holidays, and social insurance (for some).

Members now feel that the time is right to demand a wage increase of ¥100 per hour. They will add demands for job security to make sure that class assignments are negotiated with the union and for more freedom in their use of paid holidays.

Members are determined to win some improvements to their lives.

National Union Voice

Can you imagine having to reapply for your own job after having completed five years, and when you reapply, you cannot even mention that you are a current employee?

Can you imagine being rehired after five years just to have your pay cut back to first year conditions?

Or being told that even though you have eighteen teaching hours AND have to hold regular office hours that you don’t qualify for the twenty hour threshold for unemployment insurance? And unemployment insurance, when you basically get

The importance of the teacher is often overlooked by language school operators. Teachers are viewed as short-term employees, with an unlimited supply. Companies forget that teachers are their main resource.

Whether working as independent contractors at Gaba, or on yearly employment contracts at ECC, or part-time lecturing at universities, teachers industry-wide share similar concerns -- the lack of job security.

The General Union ECC branch has been negotiating for the introduction of permanent positions, but after a prolonged period of collective bargaining nothing has changed. The branch has proposed several options; unlimited term contracts, 3-year contracts, and the creation of non-contract teaching positions. In the end, however, management rejected all of our proposals.

Our members are left questioning ECC's commitment to quality education and the professional development of teachers. Teacher morale is also diminished by the lack of career advancement, and the uncertainty over contract renewal.

Union Voice firedNational every five years, IS important.

These are the conditions that teachers at Kansai Gaidai face and they are tired of it.

Some teachers have now found a way to address these concerns.

In order to protect their rights and dignity as workers, they have joined the General Union and formed a new union branch and are demanding the end of this shoddy treatment and the right to job security.

Let’s all of us welcome our new members.

This is not the 1990’s when there was a revolving door of fresh faces, floating in and out quickly. A growing number of people are staying in Japan, forming families, putting down roots. They have the right to job security and career development. It also makes sense for the company.

They need to encourage company loyalty, encourage teachers to develop and improve their teaching skills. This will not happen when people are kept on one-year contracts.

ECC argues that all teachers are renewed unless there is an exceptional reason. However, this is little comfort to the teachers concerned. If ECC views each non-renewal as a dismissal anyway, then what is their aversion to providing teachers with job security?

The union is now entering procedures to file a complaint at the Osaka Labour Bureau over what we believe is a violation of the Part-time Worker's Law. The law states that companies have an obligation to take measures to promote non-regular workers to regular worker status.

Summer 2012

ECC, your teachers deserve better!

the breadth of Japan, so the union acted as a link between people in different locations. We introduced everyone, and then got on with the task of preparing to launch the union. Months were spent collecting documents, analyzing problems, building databases, writing surveys, and translating everything.

Peppy is not all bad - many employees are very happy there, especially those new to Japan. To quote a teacher from PKC's Facebook page, “It's the easiest job I’ve ever had.” But judging from the number of Peppy staff contacting the union, this view is not shared by everyone at the company.

The fact remains; there are problems at the company for all staff but even more so for the 1600 Japanese teachers.

The union and its members have some questions we would like answered.

  

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Why won't the company make the registered work rules available as required by law?

Why do some areas force teachers to pay for hotels up front?

Why are there stories of some areas refusing to reimburse expenses when there are small kanji errors on receipts?

Why is it that Japanese teachers are not enrolled in unemployment insurance?

We very much hope that the company has answers at our first collective bargaining session.

What can you do?

Ask anyone you know working at Peppy to contact us. Get involved if you work there. Be part of the solution.

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National Union Voice

In the General Union’s opinion, if you are not in one of the below categories, you must be enrolled.

▪sailors ▪those employed less than two months ▪those employed at workplaces without fixed addresses ▪seasonal workers ▪employees of enterprises that will not be in existence less than six months ▪those employed by the National Health Insurance Union ▪those over 75 years old ▪those authorized by the director of the Social Insurance Agency (SIA) or by a health insurance union or mutual aid society.

This is a very short summary of both laws combined. Please contact us directly for exact information.

American, I know that many Americans take for granted the progresses that were made as a result of union interventions in the U.S. workplace throughout history.

Working without that safety net in Japan was especially challenging and made me wonder what my now retired father went through in his early days of working, back in the times of racial segregation in the U.S. As a result of what happened to me, I will probably only return to Japan to visit for the rest of my life, as the work conditions are hardly favorable, and I stand a better chance of survival by remaining in the U.S and continuing where I left off here even under the current economic conditions. I truly wish everyone the best and hope that working conditions can be greatly improved for any remaining and future employees.

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National Unionthis Voice teachers even though very clearly violates the law.

So why the fuss? The General Union believes that shakai hoken is a fundamental right of all workers and that the “three-quarters” rule is nonsense.

The actual laws themselves never mention hours and in fact only mention who cannot join, not who can.

After the Pension Agency ruled against one of our members working on a 29.5 hour ALT contract, the member, with the complete backing of the union, is now suing the Pension Agency for negligence in

Workplace health and safety is a General Union priority. While most workplace accidents at language schools are minor, we as workers must not become complacent. We have the right to expect that our employers will do their utmost to protect our safety at work and while traveling to and from work.

The union has been successful in raising workplace health and safety issues at ECC. The union negotiated for each school to have a first aid kit. Evacuation procedures and evacuation maps have been repeatedly discussed at collective bargaining and union-management talks. While there has been improvement, Typhoon No 4 raised new concerns for the safety of teachers and staff.

Classes in the Kinki and Chubu districts were cancelled due to safety concerns for students. However, the safety of staff and teachers in the Kinki district was overlooked. Kinki district teachers and staff were ordered to work as usual, while Chubu district teachers were instructed to stay at home out of concern for their safety.

Union members were far from impressed and decided to survey their co-workers. The survey found

Summer 2012

following the Kenko Hoken Law (Health Insurance Law), the Kosei Nenkin Law (Employee’s Pension Law), and the constitution of Japan.

The basis of the claim is that the “three-quarter” rule contradicts the health and pension laws because there are no provisions on exclusion from enrollment due to the number of hours or days worked.

that two-thirds of ECC teachers thought that ECC did not care about their safety. Other feedback from teachers and staff was extremely critical of management.

One teacher commented, "If it is not safe for the company to conduct business, i.e. hold classes, it follows that it is not safe for staff to attend the workplace. Regardless of the moral question of whose safety is more important, the company is wasting money by requiring staff to attend - in my case, an extra ¥1000 in transportation for me to attend work and do nothing. Not only is this sheer bloody-mindedness, it is economic foolishness. All the juku's in the same building, 3 including an ECC juku, were closed and the staff left before 5pm.

Ikoma school closed because the Department store told them too. My staff sat around waiting for word to go home and it didn't come until 8:30 - what was the point?"

Members will be discussing the issue at the next branch meeting and will decide on what course of action to take. One avenue being explored is applying for mediation at the Osaka Labour Relations Commission over workplace evacuation procedures.

National Union Voice

主要私立大学が 2013 年度のカリキ ュラムや授業の変更を検討するの は、今頃の時期です。ここ２年、ゼ ネラルユニオンはこれらの大学で 非常勤講師の組合員名を通告し、 ゼネラルユニオン組合員について、 コマ数削減や労働条件改悪を行わ ないよう要求書を 提出して きま し た。 かなりきびしい状況に直面している 大学もあるにもかかわらず、この作 戦は、やってみた大学のほとんどで 功を奏しました。８大学、25 名の組 合員名を通告した中で、組合員が コマ数を減らされたのは、一校、神 戸松蔭女子大のみでした。神戸松

National Union Voice 蔭の経営陣によると、学生数の減 少とカリキュラムの変更により、英 語の授業数も減らさざるをえなかっ たとのことで、同大では、講師数名 の授業数を減らすとともに、前年度 に雇用した講師 3 名を「手放し」てい ます。 ゼネラルユニオンは、今年も同じ作 戦でいこうと考えており、この作戦 を使ってみる大学の数を増やした いと思っています。大学で教えてい る組合員で、来年度の授業数が心 配な方は、組合員であることの通告 と要求書提出を希望するかどうか、 ユニオン事務所まで至急ご連絡下 さい。

 何故、会社は法律で定められ ているとおり、届出済みの就 業規則を従業員の誰もが見ら れるようにしないのか？  何故、地区によって、講師が 出張時の宿泊費を建て替えな ければならないのか？  何故、地区によっては、領収 書の漢字がちょっと間違って いるだけで、建て替えた経費 の払い戻しを拒否されるといっ た話があるのか？  何故、日本人講師は雇用保険 に加入していないのか？

私たちは、会社が、初めての団交 の際に、これらの質問に答えてくれ ることを心から願っている。 あなたにできること ペッピーで働いている人を知って いれば、ユニオンに連絡するよう言 ってみて下さい。もしあなたがペッ ピーで働いているなら、ユニオンに 加入して、いっしょに問題を解決し ましょう！

Now is the time of the year when major private universities are planning changes in curricula and classes for the 2013 academic year.

For the last couple of years the General Union has been declaring part-time members at these universities and submitting demands for no-reduction in the number of koma or worsening of working conditions for General Union members.

Despite a quite severe situation faced by some universities, this tactic was pretty successful at most universities where we applied it. We

declared a total of 25 members at 8 different universities. Of these, the only university where members lost koma was Kobe Shoin women's University, where the administration claimed that a drop in the number of students and changes in the curriculum necessitated a decrease in the number of English classes.

The university "let-go" three teachers who had been hired the year before, as well as reduced the number of classes of some other teachers.

The General Union will be adopting the same strategy this year as well

Summer 2012 Autumn 2009

and hope to increase the number of universities at which we apply this tactic. If you are a union member working at a university and you are worried about your koma for next year, please contact the union office as soon as possible and let us know whether you would like us to declare your membership and submit demands on your behalf.

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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

ゼネラルユニオンは結成以来、非 正規労働者の健保・年金加入の権 利を要求し、対行政交渉や、加入 確認請求を続け、多くの企業での 加入拡大を実現してきた。そして 「社会保険加入要件緩和？」の法 案が、消費税と抱合せで衆議院を 通過した。だがこの自民・公明・民 主の法案では、週 20 時間以上とし た上で、企業規模や年収の条件ま で追加されており、これでは、公的 な強制加入保険とはいえない。 さらに大きな問題は、厚生年金法 や健保法では、労働時間等での制

限がなく、誰でも加入できるハズな のに、「週 30 時間が加入要件」だと した法的根拠のない慣行が横行し ていることである。これは 1980 年当 時の、旧社保庁の、内かん【通達で すらない】が、「同種労働時間のお おむね 4 分の 3 以上」を加入促進キ ャンペーンの目安とした事から、間 違いが拡大してきた。悪質企業は、 週 29.5 時間で雇い、年金事務所の 窓口や審査会に於いてですら、内 かんを根拠にした加入拒否が後を 絶たず、混乱が拡大していってい る。

今回、東海市教委から偽装委託さ れたインタラック社のＡＬＴ講師が、 原告となることを決意し、ユニオン と、大阪労働者弁護団のバックアッ プのもと、厚労省・年金機構・審査 会を被告とする訴訟を、東京地裁で 開始した。行政側は、「行政裁量 権」を、労組側は「違憲」を主張する など、大きな裁判となっている。本 裁判を通じて、官民ぐるみの脱法工 作と、非正規差別を明らかにし、さ らに、今国会にみられる「非正規当 事者不在」の加入要件？の攻防に も警鐘を乱打したいと思います。

ペッピーキッズクラブは、他の語学 業界の全国チェーンほどの知名度 はないが、ここ数年、ユニオンのレ ーダーには引っかかってきていた。 400 名以上のネイティブ講師、1600 名以上の日本人講師を抱え、拡大 中の全国チェーンで、全国に教室 があり、生徒数は 10 万人近い。 何年もの間、同社での様々な問題 ある行為が、ユニオンの耳に届い ていたが、残念ながら、これまでユ ニオンに連絡してきた数多くの講師 は、同社にとどまって状況を改善す るより、やめて別のところに行くこと を選んだ。 が、今年は違った。今回ユニオンに

連絡してきた日本人・外国人講師 は、現状を改善したい、そのために はユニオンに参加しようという決意 をもっていた。 ペッピーの教室は、日本全国に及 んでおり、ユニオンは、いろいろな 場所にいる人たちの橋渡しをするこ とになった。皆をお互いに紹介し、 ユニオン結成の準備にかかった。 書類集め、問題の分析、データベ ース構築、アンケート調査作成、こ れらすべての翻訳作業と、準備に は何ヶ月もかかった。 ペッ ピ ーは 悪い こ と ばか りで もな い。機嫌良く仕事をしている従業員 も多い。特に、日本に来たばかりの

講師たちにとっては悪くない職場ら しい。ペッピーのフェイスブックに書 き込んでいるある講師によると、「こ れまででこんなに楽な仕事はなか った」のだそうだ。しかし、ユニオン に連絡してくるペッピーの従業員の 数からいくと、同社で働く者全員が そんなふうに思っているわけではな いようだ。 同社には、従業員全員にかかわる 問題があり、1600 名の日本人講師 にとっては、さらに問題が多いとい う事実は厳然としてある。 ユニオンとペッピーで働く組合員に は、聞きたいことがある。

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