On Monday 4th December 2023, members of Tozen’s Gaba local took to the streets to protest and fight for their wellbeing.
The video below includes speeches from organiser Louis Carlet, Gaba local President Musashi Sakazaki, and Gaba local General Secretary Mitch Brown.
Article written by 東海林智, and originally featured here.
「10％以上の賃上げを」非正規労働者ら、春闘に向け団体設立
非正規労働者らを多く組織する個人加盟が中心の労働組合や地域労組が4日、2024年春闘へ向けた共闘組織「非正規春闘実行委員会」を設立した。物価高による生活苦が社会に広がる中、一律10％以上の賃上げを方針に掲げた。実行委は「一人でも賃上げを求め声を上げることはできる。一緒に賃金を上げよう」と呼びかけた。
非正規労働者の賃上げに特化した取り組みは今春に続き2度目。東京都内で活動する全国一般東京ゼネラルユニオン、首都圏青年ユニオン、全国一般東京東部労組、総合サポートユニオンなどで実行委を結成。全国各地から計20労組が参加する。参加労組は23年春闘から三つ増えた。
この日は、春闘方針を発表した。①一律10％以上の賃上げ②正規と非正規の均等待遇③全国一律最低賃金1500円の即時実現――などを要求する。賃上げ要求は23年春闘の10％に「以上」を付けて増額を目指す。実行委の青木耕太郎さんは「物価上昇の中、生活できる賃金を考えれば10％でも足りない人もいる。生活実態から要求を考え『以上』をつけた」と説明した。
23年春闘では、飲食店やスーパーなど36社と団体交渉。ストライキをしたり、協力して会社の前で宣伝をしたりして、16社から有額の回答を得た。飲食店で時給200円（17％）▽スーパーで非正規労働者9000人に5・44％▽靴販売店で同5000人に6％の賃上げを実現した。24年春闘では要求の輪を広げたいとしている。実行委は「要求しなければ賃金は上がらない。低賃金に悩んでいる人は相談してほしい」とアピールしている。
In the article ‘I feel disposable’: Thousands of scientists’ jobs at risk in Japan, about universities terminating workers on fixed-term contracts, Tozen organiser Louis Carlet was interviewed and gave an explanation on how universities have responded to the 5/10-year rule.
Read the full article here
東ゼン一日行動(上)
神田にあるシェーン英会話本社前で抗議行動を始めした。
The first part of Tozen’s All Day Protest.
Starting with the Shane Worker’s Union protesting at Shane English School Head Office in Kanda, Tokyo.
東ゼン一日行動(中)
神田にある神田外語大学院前で抗議行動を始めした。
The second part of Tozen’s All Day Protest.
Kanda University of International Studies (KUIS) Union protesting at Kanda University of International Studies in Kanda, Tokyo.
東ゼン一日行動(下)
銀座にあるインタラック本社前で抗議行動を始めした。
The third part of Tozen’s All Day Protest,
Interac Union protesting at Interac HQ in Ginza
Louis Carlet, Tony Dolan, and Orren Frankham present a Tozen Daigaku on how to safely organise your coworkers, what to be careful of, how to build up a union, and their own experiences in building unions.
Japanese Labour Union Act
Japanese Labour Relations Adjustment Act
Japanese Labour Standards Act
From the Begunto Website:
On September 14th Begunto entered dispute after weeks of negotiations that went nowhere. On September 16th we had our first striking member. The purpose of the strike is to realize the Union’s demand that our member, Matthew Wiegand, be reinstated in his job. We aim to protect members against unfair dismissals.
A message from Tozen Union President, Okunuki Hifumi, (16 September 2021):
Today, 13 years after its founding and now part of Tozen Union, our local Begunto has begun a new fight – this time not for more money but rather to protect the job of one of our members. At 7:40 pm this evening, our member Yancey walked off the job – on strike to push Berlitz management to reinstate our member Matt Wiegand.
Begunto (Berlitz General Union Tokyo) has a history going back to 1994, the year of its founding (then part of NUGW Tokyo Nambu). Over the next 27 years, Begunto has blazed a wide trail for language teachers in Japan, with enormous victories that changed the language school industry. In 2007, the union launched an intense, twelve-month strike to raise wages across the board by 4.6%, something unheard of among any teacher unions, let alone one with mostly foreign teachers. Berlitz Japan made two offers, but Begunto rejected them as too little. (See the wikipedia entry for this historic strike)
This fight is Tozen Union’s fight as much as Begunto’s fight. We will fight together to protect all our members’ job from reckless firings like this one. We will update you on events that all Tozen members can join to help us win.
In solidarity,
Hifumi Okunuki
Tozen Union Executive President
The Tokyo District Court handed down its verdict in the Fujibi case last February, with the Tokyo High Court upholding it in July. On both occasions, I couldn’t believe my ears. The courts ruled that labor union Zenrokyo Zenkoku Ippan Tokyo Rodo Kumiai (Tokyo Roso) had committed defamation and damaged the creditworthiness of Fujibi, a medium-size artwork printing company.
Articles 1.2 and 8 of Trade Union Law explicitly exempt labor unions from civil and criminal liability when conducting legitimate labor union activities. This has been broadly interpreted thus far to give unions extraordinary leeway to dish out harsh criticism of their employers, whereas normally such public criticism would constitute illegal (possibly criminal) defamation (meiyo kison) or obstruction of business (gyōmu bōgai). Consumer boycotts are illegal (possibly criminal), whereas strikes by workers are protected by the Constitution, even if they hurt the business.
So these courts ruled that Tokyo Roso’s actions were not legitimate union activities. What were the actions and what led to these verdicts?
On May 25, a man wielding a saw attacked and wounded 19-year-old Rina Kawaei and 18-year-old Anna Iriyama, two members of bumper girl group AKB48, and a male staffer at an event where fans get to shake hands with their AKB idols.
Fortunately the injuries were minor, but fans were shocked. The victims and their AKB48 comrades must have been terrified.
