Tozen Union

シェーン英会話講師の逆転勝訴、司法誌労働判例のトップを飾る。Tozen Teacher’s Victory Over Shane Makes Top Story in Prestigious Judicial Review Rodo Hanrei

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東ゼン労組シェーン支部の東京高裁事件が２０２０年２月１５日号の労働判例に掲載されました。労使協定のない計画年休と英会話講師に対する雇止めに関する記事です。
東ゼン労組の組合員であるアダム・クリーブ氏は、ストライキによる欠勤は契約更新拒否の正当な理由にはならないため、雇用契約は当然更新されるべきでした。東京高裁は、シェーンコーポレーションに対し、解雇を撤回し復職させ、２年半分の未払い賃金を支払うよう命令を下した。

Tokyo High Court ruled that an employe cannot desginate paid leave without a written roshi kyotei agreement with the employee rep; and that Shane mangement had no such agreement.

Tozen Union member Adam Cleeve had a reasonable expectation to renew his contract, and his strike related attendance issues cannot be considered when refusing renewal.

The court overturned the dismissal, ordered Shane to take him back to work, and pay 2.5 years of lost wages.

有料記事ですが興味のある方はぜひご覧ください。
The article is behind a paywall, but if you’re interested please check it out.

https://www.e-sanro.net/magazine_jinji/rodohanrei/d20200215.html

Bread & Roses: Warm Meals to Tackle Poverty in Japan

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SNA (Tokyo) — When did poverty become normal? Conventional wisdom had it that poverty didn’t exist in Japan; that the miracle recovery during the country’s rapid growth period had given birth to a middle class of 100 million people.

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東ゼン大学 Tozen Daigaku

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東ゼン大学のお知らせ 　２０２０年２月から毎月、日本の労働法についての講義を東ゼン大学の事務所で行います。 英語と日本語での講義で、最後に質問コーナーも行います。 定員が３０名となっておりますので、お早めの予約をお願いいたします。出席できない方は、Youtube上でライブ配信も行いますので、ぜひチェックしてください (https://youtu.be/lNukN-kdS6o)。 詳細は以下のリンク、またはチラシをご覧ください。

We will have Tozen Daigaku on Japanese Labour Law at the Tozen Union office every month from February. The lectures will be in Japanese and English. At the end of the lectures we will hold a Q & A session. Attendance is limited to a maximum of 30 people, so please reserve in advance. If you can’t attend, we will also live stream the events on Youtube (https://youtu.be/lNukN-kdS6o). Please check the link below to reserve your place for the first Tozen Daigaku.
https://forms.gle/8vTDGW29q8iV9KKX7

We are also starting FREE Japanese lessons with a focus on Labour Law language every Sunday at 10:00am from 16/02/2020 at the Tozen Union Office.

労働法日本語講座を毎週日曜日、午前10時に行います。お気軽にお越しください。初回は2020/02/16です。

東ゼン労組vs桜美林大学　Tozen Union Vs. Oberlin University

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The members of the Oberlin University local

２０２０年１月１７日（金）、東ゼン労組は桜美林大学団交拒否の事件における東京都労働委員会の第一期日を行った。今回の期日では大きな進歩が見られた。学校側は、団交の通訳者を手配すること、また職場における主たる言語（英語）で交渉することに合意した。組合と学校側は、数週間後に再度団交における基本的なルールを決定するために話し合いを行う。現在に至るまでどの問題にも解決の兆しが見られなかった組合としては、今回の期日は解決へ向けての第一歩であった。

On Friday 17th January 2020, Tozen Union had its first hearing at Tokyo Labour Comission for the case of Oberlin University’s refusal to negotiate at Collective Bargaining. We have made a great deal of progress. Management has agreed to bring an interpreter to Collective bargaining so our members can communicate in the language of labor relations, which is English. The union and the university will meet over the next couple of weeks and attempt to set ground rules for collective bargaining sessions. While we have not addressed every issue, this hearing was a step in the right direction.  

中曽根氏、宿敵の「労働組合」との仁義なき戦い

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中曽根康弘元首相が2019年11月29日、101歳で亡くなった。1971年生まれの筆者にとって、中曽根氏は良くも悪くも鮮明に記憶に残る総理大臣の一人である。日本の戦後の総理大臣は概して「調整役」的存在に徹し、カリスマ性が求められてこなかったなか、中曽根氏はもしかしたら、初めてカリスマを志向した総理大臣だったかもしれない。“ロン・ヤス関係”と呼ばれた、アメリカのレーガン元大統領との“日米蜜月関係”の構築は、日本の「対米従属化」をいっそう加速させたといえるかもしれない。だが、当時中学生～高校生の子どもだった筆者の目には、初めて日本の首相が、アメリカと“対等に”そして“フレンドリーに”交渉する姿を見た気がした。それは単純に、彼の身長が178センチとこれまでの総理大臣の中では群を抜いて高く、アメリカ大統領と並んだときに引けをとらなかったという視覚的な印象もあるだろう。

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Bread and Roses: How Nakasone Crushed Japan’s Labor Movement

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SNA (Tokyo) — Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone died this past November 29. During his tenure as prime minister from 1982 to 1987, he had deepened Japan’s subordination to the US hegemon through his Ron-Yasu Bromance with President Ronald Reagan. But to one middle and high schooler in the 1980s, he seemed to be the first prime minister to hold his own in friendly talks with the United States, almost as an equal.

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シェーン英会話講師、スト権行使拡大

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２０１９年１２月２１日、シェーン英会話スクールの今年最後のレッスン日、東ゼン労組シェーン労働組合の組合員たちは、雇用の安定、社会保険への加入、全従業員の賃金３％引き上げ等の要求実現に向け、ストライキを起こした。このストライキは、５年間の労働紛争の歴史の中でも最も大きなストライキとなった。

シェーン英会話スクールにとって土曜日というのは一番忙しい曜日であり、講師の出勤人数も週の中では最大であるため、代わりの講師を手配するのが難しい曜日でもある。

カバー講師も含め計１３人もの組合員がスト権を行使した。同ストライキにより、数々のスクールでスケジュールの混乱や授業の休講が発生した。

　同組合および支部は、これまでシェーン英会話スクールと数多くの団体交渉や事務折衝を行ってきたが、要求実現に対する進歩は見られないままであったため今回のストライキを決行した。今回のストライキで新たな組合員も一人加わった。

Shane Teachers Expand Strike

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The last day before Winter Solstice (Dec. 21), Shane teachers upped the ante in their fight for job security, pension and health insurance, and a 3% pay hike.

In the wake of membership, growth, teachers at a dozen different schools lay down their chalk Saturday. Reports indicate schedule disruptions and cancelled classes.

Tozen Union and its chapter Shane Workers Union negotiated both on and off the record with the English language school but failed to make progress on demands, which included a union page in the Shane teachers bimonthly newsletter.

Management maintained its hard-line, making nothing more than symbolic gestures at concession.

Union teachers determined they had no choice but to muster their courage and strike both on Dec. 18 and then Dec. 21. The latter marked their largest strike in over five years of dispute.

At least one non-member joined the union just to participate in the strike.

Tozen Shane Workers’ Union signs Labour Management Agreement with Shane Corp.

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Welcoming in the Reiwa era and the new President of Shane, Ishitani Yuya, Shane Workers’ Union are pleased to sign a Labour Management Agreement in what is hoped to be a new phase of improved relations between the Union and the Company.

The agreement guarantees the working conditions of union members and agrees to use Company paperwork when converting to permanent employment.

The agreement also defines a set of rules for collective bargaining which lays the groundwork for improved negotiations and a more timely and forthcoming approach from management.

While some issues remain unresolved, notably the official labour dispute and charges of unfair labour practices against union members, this agreement is a very positive step forward and the Union believes it is only a matter of time before a suitable settlement is negotiated and normal labour-management relations restored.

Tozen Union Wins Berlitz Pension Suit, but …

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June 17th, 2016 1:25 PM
Tokyo District Court on Friday overturned Japan’s Pension Agency’s 2011 decision rejecting Tozen member Yancey Co’s appeal to enroll in Japan’s shakai hoken health and pension scheme.

Co’s employer Berlitz Japan had kicked him off shakai hoken in 2008, after his work hours apparently fell below 30 hours per week in the wake of the global financial crisis.

The 30-hour, or 3/4 of a full timer, threshold can be found nowhere in labor law but rather in the agency’s internal memo dated June 6, 1980.

The English language instructor from Vancouver, Canada, had asked the agency to force Berlitz to enroll him but through three appeals the agency ruled against him.

Undeterred, Co sued the agency in January 2012. “I wanted part-timers to have the right to enroll.”image

After four and a half years of litigation, Tozen Union sees the Friday victory as a partial victory only.

“We insisted that the memo has no legal force and should not be used to kick someone off shakai hoken,” said Louis Carlet, an executive of Tozen Union. “We were hoping the court would declare the memo illegal. Unfortunately the judge didn’t go that far.”

Tozen Attorney Shoichi Ibuski said, “This is one step forward and we hope to use this to go further still.”

(See video presentation below.)

English:

Japanese: