TozenAdmin １０月の東ゼン大学は、皆さまお待ちかね、名誉毀損についてです！
講師には、指宿昭一弁護士をお呼びします。
講義のあとに質問タイムを設けますので、質問のある方はコメント欄にお願いします。
Atty Shoichi Ibuski will lecture on defamation Tozen Daigaku (YouTube livestream). We’ll take questions after the lecture, so ask us in the comments section. Check details below.
By: Veronika Danovich
When Shane Corporation teachers checked their payslips on Tuesday September 15, 2020, they noticed a new category listed as “Repayment.” Teachers at the language school had negotiated to stop the company from taking this dreadful action. In July, the school informed them of a surprise loan that had been imposed on them during Japan’s lockdown months, initially understood as salary. Since then, the company has made no effort to negotiate in good faith.
On August 28, newly elected teacher representatives met with Principal Alex Cox and Director Ian Holden. According to the minutes, “the average monthly deduction will be around 35,000 yen over 8 months” for teachers who were pushed into option 1 who could keep their paid leave but are required to pay back the salary that was paid to them during lockdown. Some teachers report being deducted upwards of 40,000 yen. Many teachers have expressed concern over illegal deductions made without their consent. They are also worried about the continued financial hardship they face with lower pay that will continue for 7 more paychecks.
Teachers pushed into option 2 were permitted to keep the salary that was paid to them; however they have lost most of their paid leave and were told to work 6-day weeks to make up the days they owe for when the company was under lockdown. Certain district managers have told option 2 teachers that if they do not finish making up the extra days by March 31, 2021, then they will also be deducted for the remainder of this odious debt. Some teachers feel this is a trap and that no matter what option they choose; they will still get their wages docked. Other teachers report that they make themselves available for 6-day weeks but are still given no extra work and are told that there are no lessons to make up in certain districts. They worry that even though they make an effort to comply with what the company dictates; they will still get deducted.
The two “options” as the company called it, were not options at all. Teachers were forced to choose one or the other and if they refused to choose, they were forced onto option 1. Japanese staff were given no options, were deducted before teachers were and will be docked for 6 more paychecks. Initially, teachers were told that they would be deducted 50% from their paychecks for two consecutive months which forced many panicked and stressed teachers to choose option 2 due to the fear of suddenly not being able to pay their bills and other necessary expenses. However, the company later decided the “repayments” would be divided between 8 paychecks. This decision came without sufficient notice as the deadline the company set to decide on the options they forced upon teachers had passed.
Some option 2 teachers have requested to be reclassified to option 1 due to this new information, but the company refused, citing the deadline. Option 2 teachers are now forced to work during holidays mandated in their contracts, which the company says does not count towards the days owed. Shane offers no additional pay. According to Shane’s General Directives and Guidelines for Teachers section 5.1; “Teachers will earn a daily bonus of ¥15,000 for voluntarily working on a non-scheduled day of work” The company chooses to ignore these rules for option 2 teachers.
Following the deduction, on Wednesday September 16, 22 teachers struck in response to the company’s actions. Teachers gathered in front of Shane schools in the Chiba and Saitama districts to hand out flyers to passersby and inform them about the treatment of teachers. “We did not consent to this” was written on one side of the flyers, while the other side provided public access articles and information detailing Shane’s actions regarding corona pay and taking away paid leave.
Union membership continues to increase with both Japanese and foreign staff. The union will not give up in their efforts to negotiate despite the company trying to delay and refusing any real discussion of union demands. We want to come to some kind of an agreement with management before escalating to further legal action. Shane needs to take these demands seriously and realize what they are doing is not ok by any legal or moral standards.
９月の東ゼン大学は、パワハラについてのYouTubeライブ配信講義！
今回も前回に引き続き、二人の講師をお招きします。
加藤桂子弁護士（法律）奥貫 妃文（判例）
講義の後に、YouTubeのコメント欄にて質問タイムを設けますので、是非ご参加下さい。
詳細と動画のリンクは下記をご覧ください。
Tozen Union Atty Keiko Kato and President Hifumi Okunuki will lecture on power harassment law and case law for our September Tozen Daigaku (YouTube livestream).
We’ll take questions after the lecture, so ask us in the comments section.
Check details below.
The Japan Times promised to call off planned layoffs in a deal signed Tuesday August 18 with Tozen Union and its Japan Times local chapter.
英字新聞のジャパンタイムズ社は、８月１８日(火)に東ゼン労組ならびにその支部であるジャパンタイムズ一般労働組合との間で、予定されていた整理解雇の中止を約束する協定を締結した。
In June, the paper had announced its intention to lay off 39 staffers, one third of the company’s workforce. This prompted a flurry of negotiations with Tozen Union, partnering with JT Labor Union, which represents 51 Japan Times regular staffers and is a member of Shimbun Roren (Japan Federation of Newspaper Workers’ Unions).
６月には、全従業員の３分の１にあたる３９名の従業員に対する解雇の旨が記載された文書が発行された。この文書をきっかけに、解雇発表時点で常勤職員の組合員５１名が所属していた新聞労連のジャパンタイムズ労組と連帯し、団体交渉を頻繁に行うようになった。
Negotiations broke down and Tozen members went on strike on July 22. The unions and management eventually agreed on a package that included voluntary retirement and secondments within the News2U family of group companies.
しかし、交渉は決裂し、東ゼン労組ジャパンタイムズ一般労働組合は７月２２日にストライキを決行した。最終的に両組合と経営側は、希望退職やNews2Uグループへの出向を含んだ条件に合意した。
“We’re relieved that management came to the table with something acceptable,” said union rep Gerome Rothman. “We are looking forward to resuming our historically good labor relations at the paper.”
「経営側が、私たちが受け入れられるような提案を交渉の場へ用意してきたことに安心しました。この協定によって、私たちの長年の良い労使関係を再開できることを期待しています。」
―東ゼン労組ジャパンタイムズ一般労働組合担当 ジェローム・ロスマン
“We consider this a victory for Tozen and JT Labor Union, though a qualified one”, said Chris Russell, president of Japan Times General Workers Union. “We are mindful of the many colleagues we are losing to the voluntary retirement program, especially Shimbun Roren members. The union will put this episode behind us and continue to fight for the survival and renewal of The Japan Times.”
「私たちは、これを東ゼン労組とジャパンタイムズ労組両者における勝利であると考えています。新聞労連の組合員を中心に、希望退職制度により失う多くの同僚たちを気に留めています。組合は、この事件に気を取られることなく、気持ちを切り替えて、ジャパンタイムズの存続と復興のために闘い続けます。」
―東ゼン労組ジャパンタイムズ一般労働組合執行委員長 クリス・ラッセル
On the morning of Friday August 21st a demonstration was held at Shane Corporation Kanda head office where most of management works. Thirty-three members of the Tozen Union gathered in front of the Shane building and protested Shane’s docking of wages and taking away holidays.
During the government lockdown, Shane told employees to stay home and promised to pay 100% of their salary. Memos sent to staff contained lofty rhetoric, such as, “Your integral importance in day to day operations at Shane cannot be overstated and we want to financially protect you during this very testing and challenging time.”
Weeks after the company resumed operations new memos were sent stating that most holidays would be taken away, and employees would have to provide free labor, working 6 days a week to “make up” for the days “missed” during the lockdown. Neither staff nor the union was consulted. Staffers were also told that the already paid salary was now a surprise loan to be paid back should they choose not to provide free labor.
Recently, Shane Workers Union membership tripled in size. Members include both foreign and Japanese staff. The company plans to dock instructor wages starting with the September paycheck. Salary deductions for Japanese staff have already begun. Twenty-nine teachers went on strike in solidarity.
At the protest, Shane employees were joined by members of allied unions: Posse, General Support Union, and other Tozen Union local chapters such as Oberlin Local, Begunto (Berlitz) and ALT local. Shane Corp. continues to refuse to hold in-person collective bargaining with the union. We hope to change this quickly and reach an agreement on union demands with Shane management.
The members of Shane Workers Union and many of the staff employees never consented to giving up their holidays, providing free labor or taking out any loans.
Orren Frankham, executive president of the Shane Workers Union, shouted through a megaphone at the protest: “You are taking our holidays; you are affecting the workers; you are making it harder for everybody! We call on you to negotiate with us! Negotiate with us! We have called on you multiple times for CB and you have ignored us!”
By: Veronika Danovich (member of Tozen Union)
８月の東ゼン大学は、セクハラについてのYouTubeライブ配信講義です。
今回は二人の講師をお呼びします。
加藤 桂子弁護士（法律）
奥貫 妃文（判例）
講義の後に、YouTubeのコメント欄にて質問タイムを設けますので、是非ご参加下さい。
詳細と動画のリンクは下記を御覧ください。
Tozen Union Atty Keiko Kato and President Hifumi Okunuki will lecture on sexual harassment law and case law for our August Tozen Daigaku (YouTube livestream).
We’ll take questions after the lecture, so ask us in the comments section.
Check details below.
The Tokyo Board of Education told Tozen Union they will not meet its ALT union for collective bargaining (CB). They also refused to respond in writing to the union’s request to negotiate.
Tozen Union previously enjoyed productive relationship with the school board, including talks last year. Today, the union dropped by on routine business, filing a request for bargaining and informing management of two new union members.
Two board representatives said they wouldn’t take the document because a change in the law had stripped direct-hire ALTs of their trade union rights. They refused even to put their refusal in writing and tried to force the union to take the documents back.
“We knew about changes in the law but also understood that boards of education across the country still negotiate and sign agreements with labor unions,” said ALT organizer Gerome Rothman. “We were surprised a school board would hide behind an unconstitutional law and treat their employees like strangers.”
The union refused to take the documents back and demanded an official written response by 5pm, next Thursday August 6.
“Our union has demands to protect the safety of ALTs working at schools during this pandemic. Board officials interrupted me when I explained the demands, saying ‘we don’t have to talk to you.’”
Few corporations paid full kyugyo te-ate furlough allowance during the emergency shutdown.
Shane Eikaiwa (Shane Corp.), however, paid its teachers the full allowance during April and May. At first glance, the company apparently showed respect to its workers, a company anybody would be proud to work at.
But this pretty picture has turned ugly, with management deducting wages without workers’ consent and trying to get them to work overtime for free.
The number of members of the Tozen Union Shane Workers Union has tripled from just 20 a month ago on June 24, to 71 today.
Today, 41 members walked out, the biggest strike in the history of Tozen Union’s Shane chapter and even in the history of Tozen Union.
We heard of many workplace problems that school counselors faced, but they were reluctant to stand up, organize and fight back. But counselors have joined the union and have now struck. Being the first to step forward is tough, yet they refused to bow to the pressure and took the bold and daring step of standing up.
Shane Eikaiwa presented instructors with two options in late June.
Option 1 was to maintain the same work schedule they had before the state of emergency declaration with no need to provide make-up classes on their days off. But they would get about half their upcoming pay deducted.
Option 2 was to keep all the wages they received during the closure, but then be required to do make-up classes for free to offset those wages. In effect, this means that the money paid during closure was an advance payment for future work.
Option 1 violates a principle in Article 24 that wages must be paid in full and cannot be deducted without the employee’s agreement; and Option 2 violates Article 17 of the Labor Standards Act, which stipulates Employers cannot pay an advance as a loan on condition that those wages will be offset by future labor.
Astonishingly, Shane Eikaiwa told teachers that if they refused to choose either option, they would automatically get stuck with Option 1. Employees end up being strong-armed into choosing one of these two options.
The members of Tozen Union’s Shane local rejected both options. Many members reran employee rep elections at their schools and told management they refuse and reject any deduction from their wages.
Management continues to refuse to conclude a rodo kyoyaku collective bargaining agreement over corona wages and work schedules.
Today, school counselors and instructors – the workers at Shane Eikaiwa stood up and prosecuted a major strike.
Recently, Yahoo News ran a piece on Shane Eikaiwa by well-known journalist and commentator Haruki Konno. The article was retweeted over 700 times, including by Shane students as well as those who want to take action to change things for instructors.
https://news.yahoo.co.jp/byline/konnoharuki/20200707-00187003/
Outraged teachers strike after Shane says corona furlough pay was a ‘loan’
Countless unresolved issues between Shane Eikaiwa and the union remain, but what we must fight now is what is right in front of us – the next pay day on August 15.
緊急事態宣言の期間中、休業手当を全額支払う会社は少なかった。
それにも関わらずシェーン英会話で知られるシェーンコーポレーション（以下、「シェーン英会話」）は、講師に対し休業中の２ヶ月間、賃金の全額を支払った。これは一見会社としては実に誇らしいことであり、労働者を尊重した会社に見えるだろう。
しかし現状は、従業員の同意なしに賃金から天引きをしたり、無給の残業をさせようとしたりと、悲惨な状況である。
東ゼン労組シェーン労働組合の組合員数は、６月２４日時点で２０名であったが、それから約１ヶ月間で７１名と、３倍以上にまで急増した。
そして今日、東ゼン労組シェーン支部の組合員４１名がストライキを決行した。
これはシェーン支部史上だけでなく、東ゼン労組の歴史の中でも最も大きなストライキといえる。
これまで組合側は、スクールカウンセラーたちの労働環境の問題を数多く耳にはしてきたが、なかなか組織化して闘おうと言い出すカウンセラーはおらず、ストに関してもとても消極的であった。そして今回初めてカウンセラーが組合に加盟し、ストに参加した。０から１を作り上げることは容易なことではなく、こうしたプレッシャーを乗り越えてストに参加したことは素晴らしい英断といえよう。
シェーン英会話は６月末、講師に対し２つの選択肢を提示した。
１つ目は、休業分に支払われた給料の約半分を今後の給料から天引きするが、緊急事態宣言発令前の従来の勤務日を保持し、休業中に行われなかったレッスンの補講の義務を負わないというもの。
２つ目は、休業分に支払われた給料の全額を保持する代わりに、休業中に行われなかった分のレッスンを補講することによって、相殺するというもの。つまりは賃金の前払いである。
しかし、選択肢１は労働基準法第２４条にある通り、全額払いが原則のため、合意無しに給料から控除することはできない。選択肢２においては、労働基準法の第１７条「使用者は、前借金その他労働することを条件とする前貸の債権と賃金を相殺してはならない。」に反するものである。
そして信じがたいことに、１も２も選択しなかった従業員に関しては、自動的に選択肢１を適用するとシェーン英会話は講師たちへ伝えた。これでは従業員たちは、２つのうちのどちらかの選択肢を強要されていることになりかねない。
東ゼン労組シェーン支部の組合員たちは、この選択肢をどちらも拒否すると回答し、組合員の多くが各スクールで従業員代表選挙をし直し、給料の天引きを拒否する意をシェーン英会話に対して表明した。
それでもなお、シェーン英会話の経営側は、このコロナの休業の賃金や勤務日に関する労働協約の締結を拒み続けている。
そしてついに、スクールカウンセラーと講師陣、シェーン英会話で働く労働者たちは立ち上がり、大規模ストライキを決行した。
先日、Yahooニュースにも、今野晴貴氏によるシェーン英会話大規模ストが記事に取り上げられ、Twitterでは７００件以上もリツイートされている。中にはシェーン英会話に通う生徒からも、講師たちの現状を変える行動を起こしたいといったような声も上がっている。
https://news.yahoo.co.jp/byline/konnoharuki/20200707-00187003/
休業手当は「借金」だった？ シェーン英会話講師が怒りのストライキ
コロナの問題以外にも、シェーン英会話と組合の間にはまだまだ数え切れないほどの問題があるが、８月１５日が次回の給料支払日ということもあり、これは一刻を争う問題である。
全国一般東京ゼネラルユニオン（略称、「東ゼン労組」）の支部である、ジャパンタイムズ一般労働組合（JTGWU）が、全従業員の３分の１にあたる、３９名もの従業員を解雇するという通告を受け、今週水曜日にスト権を行使した。
経営側は、今回の整理解雇における必要性に正当な根拠を示すことができず、交渉は決裂した。
JTGWUは、この解雇により、ジャパンタイムズが報道機関として機能できなくなるのではと危惧した。こうした123年に及ぶ機関に対する修復不能な損害は、現在でも進行している新型コロナウイルス感染症の流行を含めた、報道がこれまで以上に重要視されている時期に来ようとしている。
これらの解雇は、２０２０年春、同新聞社の人員を著しく減少させた自主退職プログラムに続くものである。
現在JTGWUには１６名の組合員が加盟しており、ジャパンタイムズの従業員たちの声を代表している。組合側は、ジャパンタイムズの経営側に対して解雇を１ヶ月延期した７月１７日を締切とし、労使共に交渉するための十分な時間を求めた。しかし経営側はこれを拒否し、大規模解雇へと急いだ。
東ゼン労組の専従オルグであり、同支部の担当でもあるジェローム・ロスマンは、「私達は衝撃を受けています。ジャパンタイムズと東ゼン労組の間では、素晴らしい労使関係を築いていました。日本では、経営者はたった１人の解雇であっても、解雇を避けるための手段のすべてを尽くす責任があります。しかしジャパンタイムズは、こうした社会通念を逸脱し、パンデミックの真っ只中、一方的に従業員の３分の１を放り出すような決断をしたのです。」と語る。
JTGWUのクリス・ラッセル執行委員長は、「支部の組合員たちは皆、ジャパンタイムズの長期的な成功のために尽くしてきました。この成功は、会社の優れた従業員たちによって築き上げたられたものであり、これからも継続していくことを信じています。特に、私達が過去半年作成してきたCOVID-19に関する素晴らしい取材をとっても、会社は従業員に対して同じような気持ちを持っていないということには、大きな失望を感じています。」と述べた。
編集者兼記者を務めるジェイン・北川組合員は、「組合員たちは、このような立場を強いられ、憤りを感じています。彼らは、解雇を実施するという、会社、読者、また従業員にとっても最善策とは言い難い、酷い決断を会社は下したと考えています。」と述べた。
連絡先：
東ゼン労組
ジャパンタイムズ一般労働組合担当
ジェローム・ロスマン
tozen.rothman@gmail.com