Unpaid Allowances in the 2010 School Year
Tezukayama University in Nara failed to pay a General Union member an allowance for cancelled classes. Classes scheduled to be taught in September 2010 were cancelled by the university on the grounds that “not enough students had signed up. Tezukayama paid the September wages, but nothing for the rest of the semester.
The union sent demands to the university asking that the cancelled classes be paid for as per the Labour Standards Law since the cancelled work was attributable to the employer. However, the university refused payment, insisting that “according to the employment contract, we only have to pay one month's worth of the wages”; that “the university has the authority to cancel classes at its own discretion”; and that “the cancellation was not for reasons attributable to the university”.
According to Article 26 of the Labour Standards Law, 60% of the average monthly wage must be paid when work is cancelled for reasons attributable to the employer. Since the employer is clearly responsible for ‘sales’ the cancelled work is the responsibility of the university.
The union member, accompanied by union officers, reported this to the Nara Labour Standards Office, seeking to redress the violation and on March 3, 2011, the Labour Standards Office ordered the university to pay the allowance for cancelled work.
Tezukayama University complied with the order, and paid the allowance.
[by General Union]
帝塚山大学 労基法違反で刑事告発
2010年度の休業手当不払い
ゼネラルユニオンの組合員である外国人講師は、帝塚山大学（奈良県奈良市）で非常勤講師として勤務してきました。帝塚山大学は、2010年度後期（同年度9月開始）に組合員が担当するはずの科目を「受講登録者が十分に集まらなかった」ことを理由に不開講としました。帝塚山大学は組合員へ2010年9月の賃金は支払いましたが、同年10月以降の賃金は一切支払いませんでした。
ゼネラルユニオンは帝塚山大学へ「組合員が担当するはずだった科目の不開講は休業にあたるので、組合員へ賃金補償せよ」と要求しましたが、帝塚山大学は「雇用契約上1ヶ月分の賃金を払えばよい」、「大学の裁量で不開講とすることができる」、「不開講は大学の責めに帰す事由ではない」と主張し、組合員へ不開講分の賃金を一切補償しませんでした。
労基法第26条は「使用者の責に帰すべき事由による休業の場合においては、使用者は、休業期間中当該労働者に、その平均賃金の百分の六十以上の手当を支払わなければならない。」と定めています。帝塚山大学が組合員へ平均賃金の6割に相当する賃金補償（休業手当）を支払わなかったことは、労基法第26条に違反します。
組合員は、帝塚山大学の労基法違反（休業手当不払い）の是正を求め、奈良労基署へ申告しました。2011年3月3日、奈良労基署は、組合員の申告どおり、帝塚山大学へ「休業手当を支払え」と是正勧告しました。帝塚山大学は、奈良労基署の是正勧告により、組合員へ休業手当を支払いました。
＜ゼネラル・ユニオン＞
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Gaba Assures Union: "We are Determined To
On Monday March 5th 2013 the General Union Gaba branch held our first collective bargaining session of the year with Gaba.
Five members and three union representatives attended, and we made it clear that we expected improvements, and ultimately, the company said that they were "determined to improve conditions" for instructors, and that they were considering increasing the TNT bonus and the per lesson pay rate.
This is similar to what happened 5 years ago when the GU won an increase of 100 yen per lesson, and lengthening of contracts from 4 to 6 months. There is currently no assurance on the amount of the increase this time, or even if the board will approve it. The union is hopeful that this will eventuate, but is prepared to take other action if it does not. We hope to be able to give you firmer details before May.
One way or another, this is a year that will see changes at Gaba
[by General Union]
Fighting against “ghetto” in the office – Struggle of OGAWA Hideaki
OGAWA Hideaki (photo), a 41-year old
salesperson for Bungeisha, Japan’s largest publisher of self-published books,
has been confined to a “ghetto” in the office. In February 2012, Mr. Ogawa was
suddenly notified by his director, “There will be no place for you after March”.
He refused to accept the notification but has faced harassment ever since. He
joined the Tokyo Managers’ Union to fight back. He was relegated to a position
with something unnecessary – “Entry of manuscripts to be discarded”. He had to
continue using a keyboard all day long and suffered from arthritis in all of
the fingers. Even now, he is confined alone to a warehouse in the basement. He
has been ostracized, and received a bonus of only 10,000 yen at the end of last
year while its amount is at least equivalent to a salary for a month every
year. Mr. Ogawa, supporting his family members, has never given up and
continues his struggle by using the Internet effectively. (M)
* Photo: “Ghetto” in the second basement
「追い出し部屋」には負けない！～（株）文芸社、地下倉庫で頑張る小川秀朗さん
自費出版国内最大手「文芸社」の営業マンだった小川秀朗さん（41歳・写真）は、「追い出し部屋」に入れられひどいめに遭っている。小川さんは入社2年目の 昨年2月に部長から突然「あなたの活躍する場所は3月からなくなります」と通告された。小川さんは、驚いて拒否したが、そこから嫌がらせが始まった。小川さんは東京管理職ユニオンに相談、組合に加入し、たたかう道を選んだ。営業の仕事をはずされ、必要のない業務「廃棄予定の原稿の入力」をやらされた。一日中キーボードを打ち続けたため両手全指が関節炎になってしまった。現在も、地下2階の倉庫でたった1人で作業をやらされている。同僚からは村八分、例年最低でも約1ヶ月出ていたボーナスは昨年末は「1万円」だった。家族がいて生活がかかっている小川さんだが、くじけていない。「私は絶対にいじめにまけない。こんなことが許されるのか。社会に訴えていきたい」とネットを駆使して活動を展開している。（M）
“March in March” – Spring labor offensive of migrant workers in Japan
On March 3, 2013, Verceremos, a Chilean
song of revolution, sounded in the cold winter air in Tokyo. The “March in
March” is an annual labor offensive rally of migrant workers in Japan, which is
held at Hibiya Park, central Tokyo. It is joined by workers from Ethiopia,
Scotland, Peru, Burma (Myanmar) and South Korea. The slogan of the rally is “Toward
harmonious coexistence of people with different ethnic and cultural backgrounds”.
The “March in March” has been organized by several trade unions that have many
members of migrant workers, such as the Kanagawa City Union, the Zentoitsu
Workers Union, the APFS Union and the National Union of General Workers Nambu,
and held every year since 2004. (MATSUMOTO Chie)Ustream video (95 minutes)
「マーチ・イン・マーチ」にぎやかに～外国人労働者の春闘決起集会
３月３日、東京の寒空の下にスペイン語でチリの革命歌「Venceremos（ベンセレモス）」が響いた。毎年恒例の外国人労働者の春闘決起集会であるマーチ・イン・マーチの集会だ。遠くはエチオピア、スコットランドやペルー、ビルマ、韓国などから来日し、日本各地で働いている仲間たち２００名ほどが日比谷公園小音楽堂に結集した。「多民族多文化共生社会へ」と訴えるマーチ・イン・マーチは、外国人労働者を多く抱える神奈川シティユニオン、全統一労働組合、ＡＰＦＳ労働組合、全国一般東京なんぶなどが実行委員会をつくり、２００４年から毎年開催されている。（松元ちえ）Beyond the corporate framework – Katsushika Ward Trade Union Council formed
On March 2, 2013, a new trade union
confederation was formed in Katsushika Ward, Tokyo, in which the National Union
of General Workers Tokyo Tobu is based. On that day, the trade union council
held its inaugural meeting (photo). It consists of the Katsushika Local of the
Tokyo Sanitation Workers’ Union, the Sanitation Workers’ Union of Jichiro (All
Japan Prefectural and Municipal Workers' Union), Tokyo Tobu, Kokuro (National
Railway Workers’ Union), the Telecommunications Industry Labor Union, and the NTT
(Nippon Telegraph and Telephone) Trade Union Council. All the affiliated unions
were determined to be in solidarity locally to protect the interests of working
people. (SUDA Mitsuteru, Tokyo Tobu)
企業の枠を超えたつながり～東京・葛飾区労協が結成される
３月２日、私たち東部労組の地元である東京・葛飾で新たな労組間共闘組織が結成されましたので、お知らせします。東京・葛飾地域に基盤を置く様々な労働組合が集まった「葛飾地区労働組合協議会」（略称：葛飾区労協）です。３月２日に結成総会を葛飾区勤労福祉会館で開きました（写真）。加盟労組は、東京清掃労組葛飾支部、自治労・公共サービス清掃労組、全国一般東京東部労組、国鉄労働組合、電通労組、ＮＴＴ関連合同労組の６労組です。規約案や議案が満場の拍手で確認され、「企業の枠を超えた労働者の利益を守るために地域で団結して闘おう」と決意を固めあいました。（東部労組・須田光照）
15,000 join another anti-nuke rally on March 9
Meiji Park in central Tokyo was filled with
people demanding farewell to nukes on March 9, 2013 (photo). While the current
Abe Administration is trying to restart nuclear power plants in Japan, OCHIAI
Keiko, a writer and one of the organizers of the rally, said, “Since the nuclear
disaster in Fukushima, we have sought an alternative society that does not
sacrifice anyone. Despite this, the current administration in Japan openly
talks about the restart and export of nuclear power plants, and even dangerous
Ospreys fly all around Japan. It will try to revise Japan’s “peace constitution”
after the upper house election of this year. But we never give up. Let’s
continue to be anti-nuke every day calmly but bravely. This is supposed to be
our determination not only to eliminate nuclear power plants but also to change
such a social system as to sacrifice someone”. SAITO Yuka, an evacuee from
Fukushima, appealed, “Fukushima continues to be contaminated. Nothing has
changed there. Please do not forget Fukushima”. During marches from the venue,
one person was arrested due to overzealous actions of the police. (M)Photos (Y)
Photos (TM)
「つながろうフクシマ！さようなら原発大集会」に15000人
People getting even angrier – 40,000 join anti-nuke action on March 10
People want denuclearization even more
strongly two years after the nuclear disaster in Fukushima. Approximately
40,000 joined the “Action for Zero Nukes” organized by the Metropolitan
Coalition Against Nukes on March 10, 2013. It took two hours for all
demonstrators to leave the starting point of the demonstration, in which a
rally was held in the afternoon. They were from a wide age range, and many of
them were couples with small children. The demonstration was full of music and
costumes. At night, another rally was held in front of the Parliament Building,
joined by KAN Naoto, a former prime minister. Mr. Kan emphasized “no nukes”. We
are sure that their voice “Down with nukes!” was heard by the members of the
current administration led by Prime Minister ABE Shinzo. (M)7-minutevideo (YouTube)
Photos (Shinya)
ますます強まり広がる怒り～3.10「原発ゼロ大行動」に4万人
Time-limited strike of Mr. Hiratsuka (a Union Yokosuka member) at Nissan settled
HIRATSUKA Ryoji, an
assembly line worker at Nissan and our union member, ended his 2-hour strike at
its Oppama Plant last January, which he had continued every day since July 2012
over his return to workplace after his 3-year leave of absence due to low back
pain. Since Nissan clearly stated not to impose any disciplinary punishment
against him by reason of the action he had taken, we reached an agreement with
Nissan that Mr. Hiratsuka would continue to work on light duty from February
onwards in accordance with his handicap.
Nissan has a
reinstatement program for those who took a leave of absence due to a mental
illness. However, the auto manufacturer has not changed its policy that
assembly line workers be allowed to return only to the previous position. Mr.
Hiratsuka achieved a great deal by leaving Nissan’s in-house union and joining
the Union Yokosuka. On March 11, 2013, we concluded an agreement with the
company at the Kanagawa Prefectural Labor Relations Commission.
Nissan has significantly
reduced production in all of its plants and some uncertainties remain, but our
union is still satisfied with the settlement through labor-management
negotiations that will continue at Nissan. The auto manufacturer has fully accepted
a request for an annual bonus from the in-house union in its spring labor
offensive.
KOJIMA Takeshi
President時限ストで闘ってきた日産追浜工場・平塚さん（ユニオン・ヨコスカ）の争議が和解
腰痛症による３年間の休職後の復職をめぐって、昨年の7月以降闘い続けた日産追浜工場の平塚良治ユニオンヨコスカ組合員の無期限の時限スト（２時間）は本年1月末で終了した。会社はこのことに関して懲戒処分しない（棚上げ）と言明したことで、平塚組合員は２月より本人の障害に合わせた軽作業を続けることで労使は合意した。
日産では、メンタルでの休職後の職場復帰プログラムは作られている。しかし、ライン労働での休職後の職場復帰では、原職復帰以外は認めないという方針を変えていない。その中で日産労組を脱退して、ユニオンヨコスカに加入して勝ち取ったこの成果は大きい。３月１１日に添付の通り神奈川県労働委員会の場で和解の協定書を結んだ。
日産では今工場全体で大幅な減産体制にあり、今後まだまだ課題が山積しているが、労使交渉での道が開かれたことで、ひとまず組合はこれで良しとした。今春闘で日産は年間一時金要求に対しては満額回答であった。
日産では、メンタルでの休職後の職場復帰プログラムは作られている。しかし、ライン労働での休職後の職場復帰では、原職復帰以外は認めないという方針を変えていない。その中で日産労組を脱退して、ユニオンヨコスカに加入して勝ち取ったこの成果は大きい。３月１１日に添付の通り神奈川県労働委員会の場で和解の協定書を結んだ。
日産では今工場全体で大幅な減産体制にあり、今後まだまだ課題が山積しているが、労使交渉での道が開かれたことで、ひとまず組合はこれで良しとした。今春闘で日産は年間一時金要求に対しては満額回答であった。
ユニオンヨコスカ
執行委員長 小嶋 武志
執行委員長 小嶋 武志
TEPCO, compensate! Take responsibility for Fukushima! Protest against TEPCO – 2 years after nuclear disaster
TEPCO, compensate! Don’t evade
responsibility! Many people protested the Tokyo Electric Power Company, the
operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, on March 11,
2013, the second anniversary of the earthquake and the nuclear disaster. They demanded
that TEPCO compensate for victims of the disaster, take responsibility for
workers at the plant exposed to radiation, clarify causes of the disaster, and not
restart the Kashiwazaki Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant. NASUBI, a member of the Network
on Radiation-Exposed Labor, expressed his anger, saying, “A thorough cost reduction
by TEPCO that has continued since autumn in 2012 seriously affects
subcontractor workers at the Fukushima Plant with their safety neglected, and
their wages and workforce reduced. TEPCO is even taking advantage of
decontamination work that is led by Japan’s Ministry of the Environment.
Surprisingly, the decontamination work in Tamura City, Fukushima Prefecture, is
subcontracted to Oze Corporation, a 100% subsidiary of TEPCO, which has
received kickbacks for hazard pay that is offered by the ministry for
decontamination workers. This is the nature of this company. We never forgive
it”. (M)
償え東電！福島を返せ！～原発事故から2年、東電本社前で責任追及
「償え、東電」逃げ切りは許さない。3.11から2年が経った2013年3月11日。東電前にはたくさんの市民が集まり、アピール行動を続けた。抗議はとくに「被害者への償い・被ばく労働者への責任・事故原因の究明・柏崎刈羽原発再稼働反対」の4点を訴えた。被ばく労働ネットワークのなすびさんは、「昨年秋からの東電の徹底したコストカットは、原発下請け労働者にしわ寄せされ、安全軽視・賃金カット・人員削減が起きている。また環境省が税金を使って除染作業をやっているが、東電はここでも私腹をこやしている。田村市の除染を請け負っている二次下請けは“尾瀬林業”で危険手当をピンハネしている。その会社はなんと100％東電の子会社だ。これがこの会社の体質。ぼくたちはけして許さない」と怒りをぶつけた。（M） We are NOT a US colony! PM Abe strongly condemned for announcing participation in TPP negotiations
On March 15, 2013, hundreds of people
protested in front of the Parliament Building and the Ministry of Economy,
Trade and Industry against Japan’s Prime Minister Abe’s announcement to
participate in the opaque and undemocratic TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership)
negotiations despite his party’s lower house election pledge not to do so
unless certain conditions are satisfied. Many of the demonstrators were young
and expressed their anger, saying, “Japan will become a US colony”. The TPP
will negatively affect not only agriculture but also healthcare, food,
insurance and copyrights in Japan. UCHIDA Shoko, who “sneaked into” the venue
of the TPP negotiation held in Singapore in the same month, exposed, “A US
negotiator clearly said that it is impossible for Japan to overturn anything
that has been decided”. Some US multinational corporations, such as Fedex,
Google and pharmaceutical companies, joined the negotiation to collect some
information, making her “feel the negotiation process is controlled by such US
multinationals”. (M)
アメリカの植民地はごめんだ！～安倍首相のTPP交渉参加表明に強い抗議
Saturday, March 9, 2013
General contractors are frauds! De-contamination workers negotiate with the government for hazard allowance.
“We are workers. Treat us as human beings!”
On 28 February, workers wearing yellow bibs who are decontaminating radioactive
areas in Fukushima, negotiated with the Ministry of the Environment and the
Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare at the Upper House Diet Members Building.
De-contamination workers in the evacuation zone, who are subcontracted workers,
are entitled to a hazard allowance of 10,000 Yen per day, but have not been
paid. The eight workers who participated in the negotiation all demanded the
payment of the allowance owed to them. “The Ministry of the Environment says
that the Ministry is paying the general construction companies for the allowance,
but none of us are getting it. We only get a daily wage of 10,000 Yen. This is
nothing but a fraud. Tax money should not be used so haphazardly. The Ministry
has the responsibility as the original contractor and should thoroughly
investigate the issue.” The staff of the Ministry said “We are giving guidance
to general construction companies, but once the contract is concluded we cannot
intervene in private business.” The de-contamination workers, organized in a
group called the Nation Union of General Workers’ Fukushima Solidarity, protested against the original contractor, Kajima JV and subcontracting
company the next day.
(M)
ゼネコンは詐欺師！～除染労働者「危険手当のピンハネやめろ」と政府交渉
「私達は労働者だ！人間として扱え！」黄色いゼッケンがまぶしい。2月28日午後、参院議員会館会議室で、福島の除染労働者が対環境省・厚労省交渉を行った。 警戒区域内の除染作業に対しては危険手当として1人1万円が支給されることになっているが、実際には、末端労働者に渡っていない。この日、参加した除染労働者8人も受けとっておらず、支払いを求めた。「環境省はゼネコンに危険手当を払っているというが、私たちは誰一人受けとっていない。賃金は1万円そこそこにしかならない。これはゼネコンの詐欺ではないか。税金を使う国の事業でそんなデタラメが許されるのか。環境省は発注者責任があり、調査・指導を徹底してほしい」と強く訴えた。担当職員は「ゼネコンには指導している。そのあとの発注は民間同士の取引なので・・」と口をにごした。「ふくしま連帯ユニオン」
に結集する除染労働者らは、1日には元請けの鹿島JVや下請け業者に抗議行動をする。（M）
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