Aeon subsidiary Amity implicated in teacher's suicide

 A labor standards office in Ishikawa Prefecture took an unusual move to determine that the suicide of an English-language instructor was caused by the extra work she was forced to do at home.The woman had sent e-mails to colleagues and acquaintances lamenting the extra work. She also wept in phone calls to her father about her workload.

  She later committed suicide by jumping from her condominium in Kanazawa in June 2011. She was 22 years old.Her father applied to the Kanazawa Labor Standards Inspection Office for recognition that his daughter’s death was caused by her job.
 However, since she had lived alone, the office could not readily determine how many hours she worked outside her workplace.So officials at the office performed the same work she did at home to find the extent of her burden, sources said Nov. 5.
 According to inspection office documents and lawyers who represented the woman’s father, the inspection office focused on 1,210 cards with letters and 1,175 cards with neat illustrations that she had created mainly at home during the two months since she joined Amity Corp., an operator of English conversation schools for children in various parts of Japan. Members of the inspection office created similar cards. They took 29 seconds to nine minutes and 26 seconds to make each card.
(General Union Website)
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Fast-tracking unfair labor practice case against Minerva (BL Kids International School)

 After an early morning secretariat meeting on March 17, two union officers are busy preparing documentation to lodge an unfair labor practice case against Minerva　Language Institute. We expect to be able to file the case at the Osaka Prefectural Labor Commission by lunchtime March 18. In a 10 day period, Minerva has refused Collective Bargaining three times by refusing to negotiate in Osaka, as well as trying to place other conditions upon bargaining, including the number of attendees. The company has insisted that negotiations take place in Tokyo when both the union and the workplace are in Osaka. Previous Labor Commission rulings tell us this is an unfair labor practice.
  So why is the company trying to avoid negotiating with the union? After 8 years of full-time service, the company wants to reduce the working conditions of our member. Rather than give him a regular monthly salary, the company is trying to reduce this employment to that of a daily paid, part-time employee. He would also loose shakai hoken (health & pension). This would be a terrible blow to his family.
  We expect the case will either bring Minerva to the negotiating table, or they will face the serious risk of losing in the Labor Commission. In a case mirroring this one, the Labor Commission has just ruled in favor of the union.                   (General Union Website)

General Union and Gaba Corporation sign grievance procedure agreement

Under the Trade Union Law, companies in Japan must hold collective bargaining with unions. But they are not legally required to deal with individual problems raised by employees. In other words, if you wanted to legally ensure that you were heard at Gaba, an English language school, you needed to submit collective bargaining requests through the union, decide on a date, then spare a day, have a prior-approved agenda, a translator, and approximately six volunteers to argue your case.

That all changed on October 4, when we signed a collective agreement with Gaba. We now have a shiny new grievance policy which legally requires the company to reply to individual grievances in a fair and prompt manner.

Union members can now bring problems to a GU representative who will contact Gaba via email, fax or mail. If necessary, meetings can still be held to help resolve the problem.

We're hoping that this will allow the GU to raise more issues with Gaba, and lead to real improvements for instructors who are experiencing problems. We've already been able to solve a major problem for one instructor under the system.

Osaka Gaigo: Strike 2

On October the 10th eleven members of the General Union and Naniwa union working at Osaka Gaigo Senmon Gakko staged a half day strike for a 5% pay increase and a bonus payment of at least one months wages twice yearly. The strike united Japanese and foreign workers, office workers and teachers and workers on temporary and permanetcontracts.

Employees were angry that despite the fact that the educational trust that runs the school claims that it does not have the money to pay the increase, it refuses to provide the two unions with the financial figures necessary to see whether this is true. According to the law governing the running educational trusts, private schools should have the accounts available on the premises for inspection by their employees. At the time of writing the vocational school has failed to reply to the union's request to tell us where members can find this information. In addition, Mr. Ise, the head of the trust, has refused to attend negotiations with unions.

The mood of members of both unions is firm and angry. This is second strike, following on from their first in July. A demonstration with a total of around 30 participants from the two unions and their supporters demonstrated their opposition to the actions of the schools management. (General Union website)

ストライキ:　大阪外語専門学校

2005年に日本外国語専門学校の伊勢理事長が文際学園の理事長となりました。伊勢理事
長は大阪外語に突然やってきました。始めにしたことは、正職員と非正規職員の差別で
した。

正職員には一年だけ月8000円の上乗せを行い、非正規の職員には行いませんでした。こ
のことについて、2006年にゼネラルユニオンがストライキを行ったわけです。

なにわユニオンは正職員の組合でしたので、その時はストライキに参加しませんでした
。2006年以降伊勢理事長の組合軽視、労働協約無視が激しくなり、正職員の就業規則を
改悪しました。労働時間が100時間以上増やされました。夏休みも一週間減らされまし
た。そして組合活動に対する妨害がひどくなり、学校内でのビラまきを禁止してきまし
た。

そして賃金の問題です。それまで1ヶ月以上あった夏冬のボーナスは、0.5ヶ月、0.3ヶ
月、0.12ヶ月というように減り続けました。そして賃上げはゼロになりました。このよ
うな状況が続いています。団体交渉はしていますが、「学校の経営状態が苦しいので、
これしか出せません。」「経営に関する財務資料は出せません。」の繰り返しが続いて
いました。何回も伊勢理事長の出席を求めましたが拒否されています。

今回のストライキはこのような状況で行われました。「定期的な昇給」「最低一ヶ月の
夏冬のボーナス」「伊勢理事長の団体交渉への出席」「財務資料の開示」は本当に心の
底からの私たちの叫びです。

2013年は、なにわユニオン大阪外語分会にとって記念すべき年となりました。要求が二
つの組合で一致し、そして正規も非正規も、教員も総務職員も、女性も男性も、全てが
組合に参加し、ストライキを7月11日と10月10日の2回も打つことができました。

感動です。10月10日のストライキは、大阪外語の両ユニオンの全ての組合員が参加し、
多くの支援の組合員が集まり、大阪外語の前でシュプレヒコールや「団結がんばろう」
を三唱。ユニオンの力強さを見せつけ、東京にいる伊勢理事長にきっと届いたと思いま
す。闘いはこれからです。

ゼネラルユニオンの組合員の皆さん、ありがとう。支援の皆さん、ありがとう。
これからも一緒に粘り強く闘いましょう。

なにわユニオン大阪外語分会　分会長　加藤憲司

Fear of criminal prosecution forces Tezukayama University to settle Labour Standards Law violation

Tezukayama University, under threat of criminal prosecution after a complaint from a GU part-time teacher for breaking the Labour Standards Law, settled a case of cancelled koma (classes) after the contract was signed.

According to the Labour Standards Law an employer must pay for the cancellation of work which is attributable to the employer; in the case Koma that is cancelled after the academic year begins due to low enrollment.

However, there are more than a few universities that refuse to pay this allowance when classes are cancelled in April or September. The usual excuse that teachers are given is that “it says in the contract that only so-many months’ wages shall be paid in case of cancellation of classes.” Tezukayama University was one such university. In 2010, they refused to pay teachers for the cancelled classes, so the General Union reported the incident to Nara Labour Standards Office. The office issued a ruling that they should pay on the basis that classes were cancelled “for reasons attributable to the employer”, therefore, non-payment is “a violation of clause 26 of the Labour Standards Law.” Tezukayama paid.

In response the University forced 400 teachers working there to sign an agreement as a condition for employment, stating that they understood the allowance for cancellation of work did not apply in the case of cancellation of classes. Again, our member lost classes and again the union filed a complaint. The Labour Standards Office issued another ruling ordering Tezukayama to pay, but the university refused using the agreement as an excuse.

In protest at this outrageous conduct, the General Union filed a criminal complaint for violation of the Labour Standards Law against the University and its president. Judicial Officers at the Labour Bureau and the Labour Standards Office investigated the suspect, and decided to send the case against him to the Nara District Public Prosecutors’ Office.

The District Public Prosecutors’ Office directed the employer to “settle the dispute through collective bargaining with the GU." The University hurriedly apologized to the Union, and eventually in August 2013, they signed a labour agreement promising to pay the teachers any unpaid allowances and other financial settlements, to revise the employment contract in accordance with the law, and to pay the allowance for absence in future.(General Union website)

ドタキャン不開講は大学の責任。帝塚山大学が送検される。
　　　　　　　　　　ゼネラルユニオンの非常勤講師が、労基法違反を告発

雇用契約開始後、「学生の申込が少ない」として、４月や９月に以降のコースを開講しなくなった場合でも、「予め契約に○か月分しか補償しない、と記載して ある」として、労基法上の休業手当を支払わない大学が存在します。　奈良の帝塚山大学でも、2010年に発生した不開講について、支払いを拒否したため、 ゼネラルユニオンが奈良労基署に申告し、「使用者の責に帰すべき理由で、労基法26条違反」との支払いの勧告がなされた。

　だが大学は翌春、「不開講は休業補償の対象とならない、との別紙承諾書に署名しないと雇用しない」という踏み絵を400名の講師に強制しました。その後の不開講にも労基署は再び、支払を勧告しましたが、大学は、承諾書を根拠に支払いを拒否しました。
　そこでゼネラルユニオンは、このあまりに悪質な手口と不払いに抗議し、大学と理事長を労基法違反で、刑事告発しました。労働局や労基署の司法監督官は、被疑者を取調べた後、奈良地検に送検することを決定しました。

　地検が、被疑者に「ゼネラルユニオンとの団交による解決」を指示したため、大学は慌てて、ゼネラルユニオンへの謝罪をし始めました。結局、2013年８ 月、「講師へ未払手当と解決金支払。法令に適合した雇用契約への再改定と、今後の休業補償支払」などの労使協定が締結され、全面解決をみました。（ゼネラル・ユニオン　ホームページ）  

11 July. Strike at Osaka Gaigo.

While Japanese and foreign members at Osaka Gaigo extended last week's strike deadline in hopes of a better offer from their employer by 9 July, management's weak offer will lead to a Thursday, 11 July strike.

Osaka Gaigo made a last minute pay offer of a measly 0.12 month's summer bonus for Japanese workers and a 'no change' offer for the foreign teachers. The employer did offer and extra ¥5000 extra for the winter bonus, but this is far off the members' counter offer of one full month's bonus this year.

Teachers and staff have been suffering cuts to their bonuses and small if any wage increases over many years and this year the General Union in cooperation with Naniwa Union decided to stop the rot in wages and bonuses. The employer rightfully claims a drop in student numbers but failed to show the unions their total labour costs as they have lost many teachers over the years and bonuses have deteriorated for those who remained. Osaka Gaigo also failed to explain their profit/loss over the sale of a building. An honest opening of the books may have prevented a strike but the employer's failure to be open with their figures while making the workers carry the burden the school's poor performance are the only reasons this strike is even taking place.

If strike action increases in the future, union members will be called upon to help boost picket lines. A victory at Osaka Gaigo will put all employers on notice that we will not allow the deterioration of our living standards to pay for the bosses' mistakes. (General Union website)
YouTube

General Union Schools and Colleges Branch: Stable employment for all teachers

Last year a bill aiming to stabilize the employment of workers on limited term contracts passed both houses of the Diet. The bill gives workers who have been employed continuously for over five years the right to request a permanent contract. Disgracefully, a number of prestigious educational institutions, including Osaka, Kobe and Waseda Universities, have since announced changes to working rules that try to impose a maximum limit of five years employment on part-time teachers. If this attack on part-time teachers is not answered, it will eventually lead to an undermining of the conditions of all teachers. We are working with other unions to oppose this.
This shows that teachers cannot rely on the good will of schools and colleges to look after their interests. All teachers, including part-time and contract workers need a voice. As an individual, your opinion will be ignored. Teachers need to get organized and join a union now.(General Union Website)
Read More



ゼネラル・ユニオン 学校・大学支部：すべての教職員に安定雇用を！

昨年、有期雇用契 約下で働く労働者の雇用の安定を図る法案が、衆参両院の通過を見た。この法案により、継続して5年を超えて雇用されている労働者には無期雇用を求める権利 が与えられることになる。しかし、恥さらしなことにこの期に及んでも大阪大、神戸大、早稲田大を含む多くの有名な高等教育機関は、非常勤講師の雇用期間を 最長5年とする就業規則を押し付る変更を発表した。それゆえ非常勤講師に対するこの攻撃に対して反撃を行わなければ、最後にはすべての教職員の労働条件の 悪化を見ることになるであろう。我々はこれに反撃を加えるために他の組合と連帯して働いている。

これが示している事実は、講師は中・高・大学等の教育機関の善意を頼りにしていては自分たちの権利を擁護することはできないということである。非常勤講師 や有期契約講師を含む教職員はみな声を上げる必要があるのである。一人で声を上げても、その声は無視される。今、教職員は団結し、組合に加入することが必 要なのである。(ゼネラル・ユニオン　ホームページ)
続き

Strike looms over wages at Osaka Gaigo

Japanese and foreign teachers and staff represented by Naniwa Union and the General Union have signified their intention to go on strike by sumbitting a strike deadline to Osaka Gaigo Senmon Gakko.
The deadline asks that an offer to the unions' wages demands of a 5% pay increase and a month's bonus twice per year be made by the employer. These pay demands come after years of wage stagnation. While members understand that due to falling student numbers Osaka Gaigo may not be as healthy as they once were, they still believe that the employer's financial situation shouldn't be shouldered entirely by teachers and staff.
The unions have given the employer ample opportunity to make a full financial disclosure so that members can decide if the employer can or cannot afford a pay increase. The employer has provided some information about student and employee numbers, but has failed to provide the union with wage, revenue, asset, and expenditure figures. The union has gone as far as offering to sign a collective agreement over the privacy of these figures, but the employer has still balked. The employer's failure to provide this important information has left members feeling that the school is hiding the its true financial situation and using falling student numbers as an excuse to drive employees out of the company through a low wage policy.
While the employer refuses to provide financial information, members are gearing up for a strike. More to follow. 　(General Union Website)




 大阪外語で賃上げを求めてストライキの動き

 なにわユニオンゼネラル・ユニオンに加盟している日本人・外国人労働者たちは、大阪外語専門学校に2週間のスト突入までの交渉期限を提示し、ストライキ突入の意思を示した。
 この交渉における組合の要求は、５%の賃上げと年2回の1か月分の賞与の支給を雇用者が受け入れることである。これらの要求は、数年間に渡る賃金伸び悩み の結果を受けて出てきたものである。組合員たちは、学生数の減少によって大阪外語の財政状態はかつてほど健全ではないことは理解しているが、雇用者は講師 や職員にその負担を求めるべきではないと信じている。
　組合は雇用者に組合員たちが賃上げを行う余裕があるか否かを決定することができるように、完全な財務状態の開示の機会を十分に与えてきた。雇用者は、学生 と従業員数についての一部の情報を提供したものの、組合に対して賃金、収入、資産および支出の数字を提供してはいない。組合はこれらの数字の秘密保持に関 する団体協約への署名を申し出さえしたが、雇用者側は依然として二の足を踏んでいる。雇用者がこの重要な情報を提供しないので、組合員たちは学校が本当の 財務状況を隠しており、生徒数の減少を隠れ蓑にして、低賃金の方針を取り続けることにより、従業員を追い出そうとしているのではないかと感じるようになっ ている。
　雇用者は財務情報の提供を拒絶し続けており、組合員たちはストライキの準備をおこなっている。

General Union gears up for a new year!

The 2013 Annual General Meeting brought together about 90 union members who listened to officer reports covering the different GU sectors (Private Language Industry - PLI, Schools and Colleges - SAC, Industrial and Commercial - I&C), and the annual finance report and budget.

Members who have won recent victories or are currently in dispute also asked for support in their workplaces and thanked union members for their past help.

The current branch chair of the Peppy Kids Club Branch spoke about his dismissal for union activity and how he was touched to see the number of members in his branch grow after he was fired. The solidarity in this branch will guarantee a victory and many new union activists.

The branch chair of the Osaka Gaigo Branch spoke about their recent victory against forced retirement. It was the branch's commitment to strike if they couldn't win at the negotiation table that led to a victory over this problem.

The last speaker, the branch chair of the union's Shinobu Foods branch spoke about her branch's most recent collective agreement guaranteeing job security through a pre consultation agreement covering contract renewals, a grievance procedure, dues check off, and pay for collective bargaining held within working hours. She also talked about their new demands for a pay increase from ¥850 per hour to ¥1000 and asked for union members’ support in case of a strike. The branch chair spoke elegantly about the rights of workers to dignity in the workplace.

New Union Executive Committee

This year also brought the union a full executive board, the first in four years. The four women elected to the committee is the highest in probably ten years while the number of new officers, six, is also the most in many years.

Even the election for auditors brought a pleasant surprise as four union members, the most ever, volunteered to keep the integrity of the union's finances.

The evening ended, as always, with pizza, beer, and a good time, back at the union office.

The union will face many challenges over the next few years and the hope is that the new energetic executive committee can meet the members' needs and that a whole new layer of activists will become a new generation of leaders.

Job security at ECC...coming soon??

The General Union's campaigning for job security at ECC Foreign Language Institute has seen some major changes. From this spring teachers can become seishain (permanent employee) and are also one step closer to permanent employment.

Native teachers now have the opportunity to be promoted to seishain with recommendations from their supervisors. ECC management has told the union that from March 1st, native teachers working in schools will also be eligible for seishain positions. Native teachers promoted to seishain will have to complete 10 hours of extra non-teaching duties. In the words of ECC management, "This is one big step forward". Though with only 2 native teachers (both district office workers) being promoted to seishain this spring, the General Union will pay close attention to ECC's sincerity in the promotion of actual teaching staff to seishain. ECC employees can be recommended for seishain positions by managers throughout the year with appointment starting in March, June, September and December.

Job security through seishain positions is not the only step towards permanent employment. ECC has implemented the revisions to the Labour Contract Law giving all employees the right to ask for an unlimited term contract after 5 years of continuous employment. However, ECC will not take into consideration length of service for time served before April 1st, 2013. Furthermore, management have implemented a mandatory retirement age of 60 with rather harsh re-employment guidelines.

On one hand these changes put job security on the horizon for some teachers, but in reality, new contract renewal guidelines, and unclear after 60 working conditions (for employees who don't receive company paid retirement allowances) raise many new concerns. (By General Union)

Tezukayama U. faces criminal charges for labour standards violations

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＞

English conversation school GABA urged to follow the Labor Relations Commission order! Instructors start publicity action

GABA, an English conversation school, has been contracting with 800 foreign instructors mostly in a form of consignment with an individual business operator instead of employment by GABA, which is not reflecting the actual operation, making the only such case among major companies of the same trade. Thus, complaints were flooding into the Multilanguage Center of the General Union, saying, "There is no paid annual leave or health insurance coverage." The Union filed a case of violation of Article 7 of the Labor Standards Law with the Osaka Prefectural Labor Relations Commission. In December 2009, the Commission issued an order recognizing that "the instructors are workers and employees." This established the employment relations and the applicability of the respective laws concerned including the Labor Standards Law and a law for coverage of public health insurance. Nevertheless, the company has not complied with the order yet. "We won't even have any safety net benefits like out-of-work insurance, pension and forward payment of unpaid wages." So these instructors have started publicity activities communicating with the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, the Labour Bureau, employment agencies, tax offices and the Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission. (Yamahara at General Union) - Webpage of the General Union

英会話のGABAは労働委員会命令に従え！～講師たちが通報活動を開始
　英会話GABA＝ガバは、大手で唯一800名の外国人講師の大半を「雇用とせず、委託＝一人親方」とし、実態と違う契約をしてきた。そのため「年休や健保がない」等の苦情がゼネラルユニオンの多言語相談センターに殺到していた。ユニオンは大阪府労働委員会に、労組法7条違反で申立てたが、2009年12月に「講師は労働者＝従業員」と認定した命令が出た。これで雇用関係と労基法・公的保険など各法令適用が確定したが、未だ会社は命令に従っていない。「このままでは、失業保険・年金・未払賃金立替払など一切のセイフティネットさえない」と、講師達は、厚労省・労働局・職安・税務署・証券取引等監視委などへの通報活動を開始した。（ゼネラルユニオン・山原） ・ゼネラルユニオンHP