Tozen, and our President Okunuki Hifumi, have been mentioned in the following article by Mieko Takenobu about the difficulties that Filipino domestic workers have.
竹信三恵子氏のフィリピン人家事労働者が抱える問題についての記事の中で、東ゼン労組と執行委員長の奥貫妃文についても触れていただきました。
TozenAdmin
Bread & Roses: Needless Death of a Sri Lankan Detainee
SNA (Tokyo) — “Japan is safer than other countries; the Japanese are kind; the streets are clean; and it’s easy to live here.” I hear foreigners say these things. But I also hear it from Japanese who have never lived abroad. The mainstream media’s Nippon Sugoi! campaign is working, perhaps, but it’s not far off from the nation’s general reputation. But read on: The current reality may blow your image of my country to smithereens. Can such a thing be happening in Japan in 2021?
外国語指導助手 “低賃金・不安定な雇用” 実態は – ALTs struggle with low wages and precarious employment.
Tozen’s President Hifumi Okunuki was interviewed by NHK news.
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/sapporo-news/20210326/7000032242.html
東京ウエストインターナショナルスクールでの抗議
東ゼン労組の新たな支部、TWIST （東京ウエストインターナショナル東ゼン）が2021年3月9日の午後、東京ウエストインターナショナルスクール（以下「TWIS」）前で抗議行動を行いました。八王子にあるTWISの講師たちは、組合員に対する不当解雇に対して抗議をするべく集まった。2021年1月末、組合員たちは膨大な未払い残業代、まとまった休憩時間や休憩場所が確保されていないこと、有給休暇が少ないこと、職場における一般的なサポートや整頓の欠如などの問題に受け、学校側に対し支部結成通知を行った。
初の団体交渉を行った直後の2月19日、TWISは組合員を解雇した。
「私たちは、学校側に要求事項を説明し、素晴らしい団交が行えました。」組合員の一人はこう述べる。
「私たちは経営側に私たちの問題を正直に打ち明け、学校側は私たちに耳を傾けているように思えました。私たちは学校側と共に協力し、労働環境を改善してゆけることを望んでいました。ですが、学校側は私たちが組合を結成したことにより組合員たちを解雇し、私たちは失望しています。組合側は学校に対し解雇撤回に対する締切を3月8日と通知しましたが、学校は解雇撤回を拒否しました。私たちは、この現状を他の人たちにも知ってもらいたいです。有能な講師たちが正当な理由もなく解雇されており、今直面している解雇問題をこれから先も同じことが起こらないよう防ぎたいです。」
Protest Held at Tokyo West International School
A new Tozen Union local called TWIST (Tokyo West International School Tozen) held a protest on the afternoon of Tuesday March 9 at Tokyo West International School. Teachers at this Hachioji, Tokyo school gathered to protest the recent unfair dismissals of union members. They had declared their new union in late January of 2021, because many worked overtime without pay, lacked breaks, had fewer days of paid leave, and faced a general lack of support and disorganization in the workplace.
The union had just one collective bargaining session with management before the school decided to dismiss several members on February 19.
“We had a great meeting with management explaining our demands,” one member said. “We were open, honest and thought management had listened to our concerns. We wanted to work together to improve our work environment. Now we feel disappointed that many of our members were dismissed in retaliation for forming a union. Management rejected our pleas to reverse the dismissals before the March 8th deadline we set. We want to make others aware of the situation. Talented teachers are being dismissed without cause, and we want to prevent that from happening now and in the future.”
Bread & Roses: Osaka Court Overturns Welfare Cut
SNA (Tokyo) — A Japanese court overturned a welfare reduction for the first time ever on February 22, 2021. The Osaka District Court ruled against the government’s 2013 public assistance reduction of ¥67 billion (US$632 million), marking the first court win for the Inochi no Toride litigation campaign, involving more than 1,000 plaintiffs in 29 prefectures around Japan.
Attorney Tetsuro Kokubo, deputy head of the defense team, said, “This is the first time in my long career as a lawyer that I cried when I heard the verdict.” The comment poignantly conveys the challenges of fighting state power.
ALC Press Workers Unionize
Employees of publisher and language training company ALC Press Inc. unionized last June after management pressured them to switch to part-time zero-hour contracts with no social benefits.
Since May 2020, ALC placed employees on required furlough on certain days each month, paying them reduced wages as per Article 26 of the Labor Standards Act. Although the publisher continues to operate business as usual, it has targeted workers in its domestic language and other departments who had refused to downgrade their working conditions, including switching to non-fixed, zero-hour contracts.
“I’m working exactly the same hours as I was in 2019, if not more, but management are still deducting my salary,” said one long-serving employee.
Required leave has been in effect since May 2020 and there is no foreseeable end. Management has also begun to refuse to renew certain fixed-term contracts.
ALC employees, some of whom served the company for over 25 years are, in their words, “shocked, disgusted, disturbed, and saddened” by what they once considered a family company. A union was formed in Tozen Union to stop to what they believe to be illegal forced furloughs. In some cases, certain employees have lost close to 1 million yen from their salaries since the forced furloughs began.
Zenkoku Ippan Tokyo General Union ALC Union (全国一般東京ゼネラルユニオンALC 支部) was established with just three members in June 2020 but has since more than quintupled in less than six months. Management do not have the interests of their employees at heart and only care about making a big, fat profit, even at the cost of financially devastating their workers, many of whom have young families and mortgages and are desperately struggling to make ends meet.
The company management has changed ownership and management several times over the past few years.
ALC’s website states,
“ALC bring out the best in each employee, regardless of gender, age, or experience. We also endeavor to create an environment that makes it easy for everyone to work and continue working at each career stage. ALC also promotes the careers of its female employees.”
It’s time to hold ALC to its pledge.
We, ALC Union, appeal to all ALC employees who feel isolated, worried and concerned to get in touch with us – regardless of your contract, experience, position/job or nationality. This union is for everyone. Our goal is solidarity and to unite all ALC employees to ‘continue working at each career stage’ without the fear of management taking away our livelihoods and driving us out of the company.
If ALC’s new management do not agree or at least compromise with union demands, industrial action may have to take place.
To all ALC employees: We encourage you to get in touch with us before it is too late for you. Contact ALC Union case officer Gerome Rothman at tozen.rothman@gmail.com
違法の指摘にたいし「報復」か？ シェーン英会話学校が講師を解雇 Shane Dismisses Leading Labour Union Organisers
English is after Japanese.
英文は日本語の下。
元々 Yahoo News掲載.
English translation originally posted on Shingetsu News Agency.
Tozen Daigaku: YUKI MUKI! 東ゼン大学 有期・無期
Tozen Daigaku – Yukimuki and Job Security in Japan
Fixed-term or temporary employment is called yuki-koyo (有期雇用); while open-ended or permanent employment is called muki-koyo (無期雇用).
Tozen organizer Louis Carlet will explore the legal and practical angles of these two types of employment; their implications for job security; the relevant case law; and how we should fight for job security.
東ゼン大学 ー 有期・無期と雇用の安定
東ゼン労組の専従オルグルイス・カーレットが、雇用の安定との関係性、判例、そして私達は安定した雇用を手に入れるために何ができるのか、これら２つの雇用形態の法律と実用面について講義します。
Emergency Tozen Daigaku Unemployment During the Pandemic 緊急東ゼン大学 コロナ禍の失業保険制度
【緊急東ゼン大学】
12月6日、コロナ禍の失業保険制度についての講義を、YouTube配信します。
質問タイムもあるので、コメント欄で質問お待ちしております。
On 6th December, we are holding a lecture on Unemployment During the Pandemic via YouTube livestream. We will be holding a Q&A after the lecture, so please ask us questions in the comments.