Women vendors on casual contract go on strike

 

The workers on casual contract must retire at 65 --- Workers on lifetime employment can receive severance but those on casual contract don’t even have that or the pension. Why do we need to have a retirement age for limited-term contract workers to begin with? Six women 60 years old and up went on strike on March 18 in demand for abolishing the retirement age system for workers on limited-term contract, or otherwise for payment of severance or a bonus for special service. The women who formed a union four years ago as a local of National Union of General Workers Tokyo Tobu have worked at Tokyo subway vendors on a year contract for Metro Commerce Co., which is a subsidiary of Tokyo Metro. The union has held more than 30 collective bargaining sessions and won 10 Yen raise every year as well as paid leave for the deaths of their families. When the union with elderly members demanded that the company abolish the retirement age, the negotiation stalled. The members decided to take advantage of the right to collective  action and went on strike. （Chie Matsumoto）

Photo=Metro Commerce Union members vow to win this struggle in solidarity.

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差別・切り捨ては許さない！～メトロ売店・非正規女性労働者がストライキ
有 期雇用も６５歳で定年退職―。正社員には退職金が出るが、有期雇用労働者には、退職金どころか年金さえ出ないことがある。そもそも、有期雇用労働者に定年 制が必要なのか―。「有期雇用の定年制を撤廃するか、正社員なみに退職金や慰労金を支払え」と格差是正を求め、東京の地下鉄売店で働く６０歳以上の非正規 女性労働者たちが、３月１８日、６名でストを決行した。６名は、全国一般東京東部労組で４年前に支部を結成。東京メトロの１００％子会社、東京メトロコ マースで１年契約を更新しつづけて働いてきた労働者たちだ。これまで会社とは３０回ほど団体交渉し、毎年１０円の賃上げや忌引き休暇の有給を勝ち取ってき た。しかし、高齢者ばかりの組合で定年制の撤廃を求めたところ、会社と決裂。組合員たちは団体行動権の行使を決めた。（松元ちえ）
＊写真＝厚労省記者会見のあと「団結ガンバロー」をする組合員（3/18）
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