Rain or shine, Nambu members turn out when called, and more than 20 people participated throughout the day in the Mini-Koudou demos last Friday, May 25.

Action began with a multi-union demo in Kasumigaseki. Hundreds of unionists surrounded the Ministry buildings in support of dismissed JR workers who have been fighting for decades. Listening to the speakers, some of whom were on a hunger strike, suddenly the rain didn’t seem worth compaining about.

A highlight of the day was a visit to the offices of Universal Language Institute (ULI) where we declared a new branch. Management were more than a little surprised to find their office suddenly filled with a dozen union members, and demanded that we leave. Nambu President Hiraga refused, and insisted that ULI recognize the union and commit to negotiations with the new branch. After some debate, ULI management realized that it made more sense to recognize the union than to have a dozen activists occupying its offices and chatting about working conditions with other ULI staff, who in fact seemed to enjoy the diversion.

Later in the day, we returned again to the infamous [three lettered college in Shinjuku], where management has been trying to crush the union for two years now. Managers stood by scowling as students took our leaflets to read during their break. As for the non-union teachers who walked by the picket line, one of our members said it best by quoting Edmund Burke: “Evil triumphs when good men do nothing.”

Union-busting problems at a Berlitz franchise in Sapporo were brought home to Berlitz HQ in Aoyama, as leafletters informed passers-by about unfair labour practices going on under the Berlitz name. Demonstrations were also held in front of ELS, the Berlitz-affiliated company in Shinjuku that runs the Sapporo franchise. This demo was well-timed, just as ELS students and teachers were leaving the building, and all were curious to hear about what was happening up north.

By coordinating action, and working together to resolve disputes at other workplaces as well as our own, wemultiply our strength and solidarity. Watch for more Mini-Koudou in the future!

The fight against union busting at the Berlitz-ELS Sapporo Language Centre continues, with two demonstrations held recently in Sapporo and Tokyo.

In Sapporo, union members leafletted in front of the Berlitz-ELS LC on March 12. The union continues to receive strong support, with a new member joining the original Four, and students as well as members of the local Sapporo Rentai union helping to hand out flyers. The public is obviously reading the flyers, as we have received phone calls to the office in Tokyo from students concerned about the situation.

In Tokyo, union members gathered in front of the ELS school in Shinjuku, and distributed about 300 leaflets. Even without a loudspeaker, the colourful placards and energetic chanting of the protestors convinced the passers-by that something was definitely amiss with the company on the 7th floor. More than half the participants were from Berlitz and Simul, who, along with ELS, are Benesse group companies.                                

Background:

Union members at the Berlitz-ELS Sapporo LC are fighting unfair dismissals and union-busting at ELS Japan. ELS denies that the dismissals targeted union members, but cannot explain why out of 17 teachers, only the four union members were fired, less than two months after their first collective bargaining to boot. Unsubstantiated claims of “poor performance” don’t stand up against years of experience, good evaluations, and petitions from students to bring these teachers back to work. 

The real reason may lie in changes to contracts introduced unilaterally this April, as teachers said good-bye to benefits such as paid national holidays and prep time for kids’s lessons.

This unfair labour practice is going on literally under the names of Berlitz and Benesse, which adorn the entrance to the school in Sapporo. ELS took over the Sapporo LC in 2006, but retained the Berlitz operation in a “double-branding” agreement with Berlitz Japan.

Demonstrators gathered in front of ELS-Berlitz schools in Sapporo, Fukuoka, and Tokyo last Saturday to protest dismissals of four union members at the Sapporo ELS-Berlitz school.

Friends and students joined union members to hand out over 600 leaflets during a strike at the Sapporo school, while in Tokyo, Berlitz teachers and other union members called for reinstatement of the Sapporo Four, and in Fukuoka, the Fukuoka General Union delivered a letter of protest during a demonstration at the ELS-Berlitz school there.

ELS bought the Berlitz school in Sapporo last April, and many teachers continued working for the new owner, teaching exactly the same Berlitz lessons, albeit under contract to a new employer. Teachers who had been unionized at Berlitz soon formed a new branch to protect their working conditions at ELS, and started negotiating with the company. ELS responded by firing one member in February, and announcing the dismissal of the other three as of March 31. Out of 17 teachers, only the union members were fired – ELS calls this “coincidence”. The union calls it unfair labour practice and a violation of Trade Union Law.

The company gives “poor performance” as the reason for dismissal, yet the teachers are all experienced instructors, ranging in seniority from 6 years to 27 years, and have held positions of responsibility such as Instructional Supervisor and Assistant Instructional Supervisor at the school. One of the dismissed members is still being asked to do assessments and demo lessons for prospective customers, hardly a job one would assign to a poor teacher.

Strikes and demonstrations will continue until the company retracts these unfair dismissals.