Cram school teachers strike against employment termination at the age of 51

The casual workers teaching at cram schools operated by Ichishin Gakuin Group are refused to extend their annual contracts once they turn 51 years old.
The large cram school operator with 122 branches in Tokyo and neighboring prefectures established the rule of premature retirement without consulting the employees at all. Both president NAMIKI Soichi and vice-president OHARA Akira of the Ichishin Local of the National Union of General Workers Tokyo Tobu were also refused to extend their employment contracts that will expire at the end of February this year. On Feb. 14, members of the union staged a strike in front of the group’s holding company in Tokyo. Some 100 supporters joined and protested against the outrageous dismissal of middle-aged workers who are still highly productive and in need of money to raise children. When a few dozens of union members and supporters entered the office building intending to hand over a letter of demands to the management, the executives refused to receive it or talk to the workers by locking themselves in a room. The union members and supporters shouted chants demanding that the management receive the letter and abolish the rule of forced retirement at 51. (By M) Photo: Union members remonstrating with a manger watching the strikers.
  Video


とんでもない！「51歳雇い止め」～市進支部の組合員がストライキ決行
 
「51 歳 で雇い止め」という就業規則を勝手につくってバンバン「契約社員」（常勤講師）の首をきる「市進学院」。関東一円に122の教室をもつ巨大な進学塾が やっていることは、「教育」とは無縁の金儲けと労働者切り捨てだった。東京東部労組市進支部の並木委員長・大原副委員長の2名も2月末で雇い止め解 雇を通 告されており、2月14日、 撤回と継続雇用を求めるストライキ行動を「市進ホールディングス」前で行った。「働き盛りで一番金のかかる50歳で首切りなど とんでもない」。駆けつけた約100名の支援の仲間の怒りもピークを超えていた。申し入れで会社のビル内に数十 名が入ると、幹部たちは部屋に鍵を掛けて立 てこもり、受け取りを一切拒否。ビル内では「51歳 雇い止めをやめろ！」の抗議のシュプレヒコールが響き渡った。（M）   
動画（社前行動 9分）　＊ 写真＝監視にきた職制（左）に抗議する組合員たち

Flawed criminal justice reform will only bloat the power of police, warns Labornet TV

Victims of false accusations are angry at the government’s proposal for legal revisions to be debated in the current session of the Diet. Justice Ministry's Legislative Council Special Subcommittee on criminal justice reform was established in 2011 to identify extensive measures including audiovisual recording of interrogations to minimize the possibility of wrongful convictions by police and prosecutors. However, the “reform” recommended in the council’s final report produced last year, will result in recording only 3% or less of interrogations of criminal cases while dubious investigative methods that may easily be abused by the police are likely to expand. In the Labornet TV program aired on Feb. 11, ADACHI Masakatsu, a professor emeritus of Kanto Gakuin University, and lawyer YONEKURA Yoko discussed the flawed criminal justice reform, particularly the expansion of wiretapping and introduction of plea bargaining based on anonymous tips. ”The law on wiretapping enacted in 1999 has various stipulations that control the investigative agencies and thereby protect the secrecy of communication. Police investigators, for example, have to go to the offices of telephone companies. However, the proposed revision will allow investigators to have telephone companies send the concerned data to them, making wiretapping much easier. In addition, conspiring illegal activities will become criminal offenses even if they are not actually committed. Thus, the revisions will seriously undermine the whole system of the criminal code,” said Adachi. ”To my regrets, Japan Federation of Bar Associations is not opposed to the revisions and, hence, major media do not report on them. It is quite likely that the proposed revisions will be approved in the Diet by spring this year while the majority of general public are kept uninformed. We must raise public awareness through a citizens’ campaign,“ urged Yonekura. （By M）   Photo: Adachi, left, and Yonekura    Video  

警察のやりたい放題社会でいいのか！～レイバーネットTV「盗聴法拡大」に警鐘
 

 い ま冤罪被害者が怒っている。冤罪をなくすためと導入される「取り調べの可視化」はわずか3％ なのに、逆に盗聴拡大・密告取引の導入で警察が焼け太る法律改 悪が、今国会で準備されているからだ。2月11日のレイバーネッ トTVで足立昌勝さんと米倉洋子さんが警鐘を鳴らした。足立さん「1999年の盗聴法の時 は、通信の秘密を守るための厳しい規制があった。警察も通信傍受にNTTに 出向く必要があったが、今回はデータを送信してもらい警察内で自由に傍受でき る。また実行しなくても相談しただけで捕まる“共謀罪”も準備中で、刑法のあり方が根本的に変質してしまう」。米倉さんは「情けないが日弁連も反対してい ないので、マスコミも書かない。知らないうちに今春、国会通過もありうる。市民運動を拡げよう」と呼びかけた。（M）
　＊写真＝ゲストの足立昌勝さん（左）と米倉洋子さん

 

Supreme court rejects appeals by ex-JAL cabin attendants and pilots, giving a free hand in dismissals

The Supreme Court turned down appeals and petitions for acceptance of appeals from cabin attendants and pilots dismissed by Japan Airlines in the end of 2010 during the reconstruction of the Japanese flagship carrier. The cases of cabin attendants and pilots were dealt with by different benches of the top court, but the plaintiffs were informed of the decisions around the same time by documents dated Feb. 4 and 5 respectively. The decisions were made in less than four months after the court received the documents for the case of cabin attendants and less than three months since those for the pilots’ case were received. The judges unanimously reached the conclusion to turn down both appeals within such short periods of time. They did not even bother to wait and examine additional documents that the plaintiffs’ councils were preparing despite the lawyers’ advance notice. How can one believe that the judges had examined the documents before making decisions?  They refused to make their own judgments in these unprecedented cases that argued the legitimacy of dismissals while the company is being reorganized under the Corporate Rehabilitation Act without carefully examining the plaintiffs’ arguments. The decisions by the Supreme Court have, in essence, given the managements of companies in the reconstruction process a free hand to dismiss their employees without due justifications. The plaintiffs and the lawyers representing them held a press conference on Feb. 6.  (By YUNOKI Yasuko, secretary general of the supporters group of JAL dismissal cases) 
 Video of the press conference

最高裁がJAL解雇撤回裁判で上告棄却！～首切り自由にお墨付き
 

 最 高裁は2月4日に客乗裁判（第二小法廷）、5日 にパイロット裁判（第一小法廷）の上告および上告受理申し立てに対し棄却の決定を送付してきました。客乗事 件書類が最高裁に到達してから4カ月未満、パイロット事件については3カ月にも満たない期間で棄却の決定を裁判官全員一致で行いました。これから補充 書を 出すことを告げていたにも関わらずです。一体最高裁はちゃんと書類を読んでの判断でしょうか？ この事件は会社更生法下の整理解雇についての最初の判断でした。それがいとも簡単に棄却されたのです。会社更生下では首切りは自由にお墨付きを与えるよう なものです。JALの原告団・弁護団は6日に記者会見を行いました。（JAL闘争を支える会事務局長・柚木康子） 
会見動画（30分）