“Same work, 1/3 wage” – Protest by non-regular postal workers

There are 400,000 employees in Japan Post. However, nearly half of them are non-regular workers on a casual basis. On May 8, 2014, three part-time postal workers, members of the Postal Industry Workers Union, filed an action at the Tokyo District Court for equal treatment. They said at a press conference, “Our salaries are only about a third of those of full-time employees, and we have to worry about possible dismissal every six months. But we decided to raise our voices”. Their strongest weapon is Article 20 of the Labor Contract Act that was revised in favor of working people in April 2013. The clause prohibits unreasonable discrimination against part-time employees. NATSUME Ichiro, their attorney, said, “The article is a breakthrough as a legal basis for rectifying discrimination. It used to be impossible to file a lawsuit for fear of dismissal, but we have succeeded in doing so this time thanks to support from the union. We are also preparing for another lawsuit in the Kansai area”. (M)

「同じ仕事で賃金は三分の一」～日本郵政の非正規労働者が立ち上がる

40 万人が働く巨大企業・日本郵政。しかしその約半分の19万3千人は、不安定な非正規雇用の労働者たちだ。5月8日、郵政産業ユニオン組合員の有期雇用社員3人がついに立ち上がり、社員と同等扱いを求めて東京地裁に提訴した。「同じ仕事をしているのに賃金は正社員の約三分の一。半年更新で雇い止めの恐怖もある。でも声を上げようと思った」。配達業務などに従事する3人の原告が、記者会見で思いを語った。なによりの武器は、昨年4月から施行された改正労働契約法20条。この条項は、無期と有期の不合理な差別を禁止している。棗（なつめ）一郎弁護士は、「労契法20条は差別是正の法的根拠になる画期的な条項。雇い止めが怖くて提訴がこれまで出来なかったが、今回はユニオンのバックアップがありここまで来た。関西での裁判も準備中だ」と述べた。（M）