Precedent backs (nearly) equal pay for equal work
In 2012, Japan had 51.73 million workers, of which 33.3 million were regular employees, or seishain, according to the latest survey by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. Contingent, or nonpermanent, workers (including part-timers, haken dispatch and shokutaku semiregular employees) numbered 18.43 million, over 35.5 percent of the workforce. When I first began studying labor law in graduate school over a decade ago, contingent workers (hiseiki rōdōsha) were a peripheral phenomenon, but today they form a central pillar of Japan’s workforce. So what’s wrong with being a contingent worker? First of all, most have temporary or fixed-term contracts, which [...]
Employers’ ‘box them in, drive them out’ tactics fail legal test
Surely few employees would jump out of bed every morning, itching to start work at the “Department for Driving Them Out”? But what is an oidashi-beya? And what scary entities are to be driven out? The answer is neither ghosts nor zombies. It is you. Some companies have been known to set up departments dubbed by critics as oidashi-beya to make their employees feel so unwelcome that they quit voluntarily, thus saving the company the hassle and messy legal responsibilities associated with dismissal. One such company is a major player in education and publishing, Benesse Corp. Its name is a portmanteau of the Latin adverb for “well” (bene) and the present infinitive of the copula [...]
Labor law reform raises rather than relieves workers’ worries
Story originally published in Japan Times A new specter hangs over Japan: the specter of insecure employment. The source of this insecurity is the August 2012 reform of the Labor Contract Act related to fixed-term employment. Due to take effect April 1, the thrust of the reform is as follows: 1. Workers employed on fixed-term contracts for five years must be granted open-ended employment if they apply for it (Article 18). 2. Establishes clear legal parameters for refusing contract renewal, or yatoidome. (Article 19). (Note: This has already gone into effect.) 3. Prohibits groundless linking of fixed-term employment to unfair working terms (Article 20). Workers with open-ended (kikan no [...]
Mazda temp-staff practice ruled illegal
Mazda temp-staff practice ruled illegal Yamaguchi court: Displaced 13 should be regular employees http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/03/14/national/mazda-temp-staff-practice-ruled-illegal/#.UVFDtL8WZZJ YAMAGUCHI – The Yamaguchi District Court ruled Wednesday that Mazda Motor Corp.’s temp-staff employment practice is illegal and recognized regular employee status for 13 former temp-staff workers displaced by the automaker. The rare recognition that displaced temporary workers should be regular employees is expected to affect similar pending lawsuits. The court also ordered Mazda to pay wages that the 13 should have received as regular employees. The temp-staff worker law requires [...]
Teachers are workers, not martyrs: the severance scandal that isn’t
Saints or sinners?: Some media outlets and politicians appear to be apoplectic over the decision by some state school teachers to retire months early to safeguard potentially millions of yen in severance pay. | AP Story originally published in Japan Times “Teachers quitting before graduation?!” the headlines screamed as we headed into the new year. Traditionally, Japanese teachers head into retirement after March school graduations. However, this January, many teachers left their posts ahead of time, in a wave of resignations that began in Saitama and spread across Japan. But why? The story begins with teachers’ severance payments — specifically, the Yoshihiko Noda Cabinet’s [...]
AKB48: Unionize and take back your lost love lives
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/01/22/how-tos/akb48-unionize-and-take-back-your-lost-love-lives/#.UQ5ewt1VmjM BY HIFUMI OKUNUKI They started performing on stages in Tokyo’s Akihabara electronics district, and today their ubiquity is unrivaled. The current flavors of the month pepper the TV schedules and covers of weekly magazines all year round. In Tokyo, you can’t swing a carrot without hitting a giant poster of one or a bunch of the all-grinning, all-dancing “Vegetable Sisters.” AKB48 are, hands down, the busiest and most successful girl group in Japan. They have spawned spinoffs in other cities: SKE48 from Nagoya’s Sakae district, NMB48 from Osaka’s Namba [...]
Interac ALTs On Strike
Tozen ALTs working for Interac conducted an historic strike Friday afternoon in a push to overturn unfair disciplinary measures. It is believed to be the first ALT strike in history in Japan. Throughout 2012 the union tried to resolve differences with Interac management and improve working conditions, including Shakai Hoken enrollment and job security, through collective bargaining. Management not only turned a deaf ear to demands it retaliated against our members for daring to unionize. We call on all Interac employees anywhere in Japan to join Tozen Union now and take part in the next planned strike. Apply today and help us win this strike. Tozen President Louis Carlet
組合は、インタラックと争議に入った！ Tozen Union is In Dispute With Interac!
私たちは、現在最大手のＡLT会社であるインタラックと、労働紛争に入りました。 学校の講師たちは、組合加入を通告したとたんに会社から立て続けに懲戒され、権利を侵害されています。 １０年以上もインタラックで勤務を続ける非常に教育熱心で真面目な講師もいます。 １０年間何の問題もなかったのに、組合に入ったら突如、あれも、これも、といろいろな理由をつけて、 (more...)
Labor law protects expectant and new mothers — to a point
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/fl20121016lp.html Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2012 By HIFUMI OKUNUKI I had a labor consultation with a woman who said: "The other day I told my company I was pregnant. My boss asked me to quit because the firm can't afford to give me time off. One of my coworkers once resigned before giving birth but I want to stay on. Do I have to quit now that I am pregnant?" The short answer is no. The longer answer is: no way. Today's labor laws do not permit the dismissal of a woman for being pregnant; neither do they allow her to be asked to resign. Labor Standards Law Article 65, Sections 1 and 2, mandate maternity leave as follows: "An employee may take the six [...]
A World Without Labor Unions; in unions’ defense
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/fl20121023hs.html Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2012 A world without labor unions Re: "The Berlitz labor cartel" (Have Your Say, Sept. 25), a response to "With Berlitz beaten but not bowed, union fights on" by Patrick Budmar (Zeit Gist, Sept. 4): The writer of this is someone who has withheld their name for good reason. Everything he or she wrote is spot off. The suggestion that the union "chose to hold the company hostage rather than to leave and find a better offer" displays a misunderstanding of unions' role in the workplace and in society. A union is the only way for both parties (employers and employees) to negotiate on equal standing. If there were no unions, [...]