Interview with a leader of a Fukushima teachers' union: "Our dedication was repaid with reduced wages, but we fought back and won!"

In FY2012, wages of national government employees were reduced by 7.8% in order to relocate fund to programs for reconstruction from the 2011 earthquake and tsunami disasters. The pay cut was extended to local government employees in FY2013 and salaries of teachers and other personnel working for public schools in Fukushima Prefecture were reduced by 4.44 to 7.77% in July 2013. "The workloads of teachers and other school personnel have increased since the disasters, and they have been striving in difficult situations. The government is indebted to them and ought to have increased allowances. Instead, the government reduced their salaries. It is totally unacceptable," said ABE Akihiko (photo), the secretary general of Koriyama Branch of Fukushima Teachers' Union  in an interview conducted on December 12. 534 divisions of the union, including all the divisions of Koriyama Branch, adopted a resolution opposing to the pay cut. As a result, the government decided to discontinue it as of January 2014. (By YUMOTO Masanori) 

「恩を仇で返す給与カット」はね返す～福島県教組郡山支部・阿部書記長に聞く

 
政 府は2012年度から「復興財源の捻出」と称して実施してきた国家公務員給与の大幅カット（7.8％）を、今年は地方公務員にも断行した。その結果福島県 の教職員の場合、今年の7月から4.44％～7.77％の給与カットが強行されてきたのである。「震災以降学校現場は、仕事が増え大変な状況にあります。 その中で働く教職員に対し、手当増額を行うならともかく、給与カットを実施するなど『恩を仇で返す』以外の何物でもありません」と阿部書記長（写真）は 語った。福島県教組郡山支部では、「給与カット反対」の分会決議がすべての分会からあげられた。福島県内からは５３４分会から同様の決議があげられ、結果 給与カットは来年1月で打ち切られることとなった。（湯本雅典 /取材・12月12日）