Working at a board of education?
We will be holding an open meeting for all directly hired and dispatched teachers working at boards of education on Wednesday, 22 January from 1900 at the union office or via skype. Please RSVP if you plan to attend as seating is limited.
As you know, there are big changes taking place to the system for directly hired teachers starting in 2020 which may lead to jobs being outsourced or even cuts to wages. Dispatched teachers also face ever deteriorating working conditions which are often markedly worse than those working as directly hired teachers.
We don’t think that these two groups of workers should be fighting separately to improve their working conditions, but will have a better chance as dealing as one body especially in terms of how the General Union deals with ALT issues with the central government.
How Long Can You (Legally) Be Unemployed In Japan?
You've had enough. You gave your two weeks of notice to your company, received your letter of release, and now you're free of the corporate shackles that once bound you. After leaving for the last time, you step out of the building, and then wonder:
Just how long can you be jobless in Japan before immigration takes notice?
Labor Update Bulletin #76 (12/2019)
This bulletin contains information on law changes, government discussions, court decisions, and other labor issues in Japan.
We hope that some of this information will also be of interest to activists, supporters of the General Union, and those who want to know more about labor issues in general in Japan.
Safety at GABA
2019 has seen a number of news stories that relate to safety. In the course of daily life there are various workplace accidents and disasters even in office-style workplaces.
Since the Tohoku Earthquake on 11 March 2011, the General Union Gaba Branch has been raising the issue of safety preparations at Gaba as the company didn’t seem to be at all prepared for such a disaster.
The company has responded to the union’s concerns by conducting semi-regular evacuation drills at Learning Studios and has provided emergency supplies to all lesson booths.
Harassment by Gaba Clients - What You Can Do if It Happens
For some years, the General Union's Gaba branch has been following up the issue of clients harassing instructors.
After the union repeatedly raised the issue, company published guidelines about blocking clients, which can be found buried away under "Instructor Policy" >> "Professionalism" >> "Inappropriate Behavior Instructor policy" (see below).
Unless instructors take a very deep dive into the back pages of the Gaba site they are unlikely to find this.
Things have improved somewhat, but talking to new instructors coming into the system makes it clear that this issue is still not being adequately covered.
Postal Workers Union: Sign the Petition for Equal Treatment of Non-regular Postal Workers, and for Regular Employment!
Add your name to the Postal Worker Industry Union's petition for equality for non-regular workers.
General Union members know what it is like to work as a non-regular employee: one year contracts, sometimes even shorter, no bonus, no retirement allowances, and unequal treatment compared regular workers doing similar jobs at your workplace.
The Postal Workers Industry Union (Yusei Union) members know this too ,and that's why they have been running a long campaign to get rid of these differences and make sure that all workers are treated equally and with dignity.
You can read more about their campaign for equality here.
We Stand Against the Arrest and Detention of Kan'nama Union Activists
The arrests of union leaders and activists of the All Japan Construction and Transport Solidarity Union - Kansai Ready Mix Concrete Branch (Kan'nama) continues.
The chair of this union has been in detention for over one year.
2019 Central Government Negotiations
On November 11, 2019, thanks to the cooperation of Diet Member Abe Tomoko, negotiations were held between the National Union of General Workers "education group" (NUGW Tokyo Nambu, General Union, and Fukuoka General Union), the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT), the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare (MHWL), Ministry of the Interior, and the Agency for Cultural Affairs.
The negotiations took place over three hours, at the House of Representatives members building.
The talks began with hearing answers from members of each relevant ministry or agency to questions the union side had previously submitted, based on the education group's demands and our 2019 ALT Survey report.
"Labour Rights Education for Education Workers" seminar NOW ONLINE!
Since July, the General Union in cooperation with our sister unions in the National Union of General Workers, have been running free labour rights seminars across Japan. Fukuoka in July, Nagoya in September, Tokyo and Okayama in October, and we finally ended in Osaka on 17 November.
This seminar is now available to all of you online. You can download both the entire seminar covering: Employment Standards, Social Insurance, Unlimited Term Contracts, and Trade Union Law all from YouTube, and the accompanying manual to help you understand what we're referring to in the video.
New, Multilingual Leaflet on Caregiver & Nursing Care Leave
Just had a baby? Elderly parents need help at home? Want more information but everything is in Japanese?
The Ministry of Health, Welfare, and Labour has produced a new, multilingual pamphlet available online.
It covers:
全国セミナー / National Seminar
教育非正規労働者の権利を学ぼう
Labour Rights Education for Education Workers
福岡市: 7月7日 (Fukuoka: 7 July)
名古屋市: 9月29日 (Nagoya: 29 September)
東京港区: 10月20日 (Tokyo: 20 October)
岡山市: 10月27日 (Okayama: 27 October)
大阪市: 11月17日 (Osaka: 17 November)
Overtime Q&A
When it comes to Japanese labor law, figuring out how much extra overtime money you're entitled to (as well as the laws that govern such things) can be a very confusing process rife with conflicting information and complicated legalese.
Luckily, the General Union is here to help you make sense of things with this handy Q&A!
Everything You Wanted To Know About Not Paying Pension
As three wise monkeys once said: "See no pension, speak no pension, pay no pension".
The topic of pension (and pension contributions) is one that tends to attract strong opinions - much to the dismay of people who would rather not think about it at all.
However, like it or not, the pension system is here to stay - so here's everything you ever wanted to know about not paying (kokumin!) pension
Labor Contract Law Amendment (Unlimited Term Contracts) Q&A
Over the past five years, in preparation for the Labour Contract Revision Law (aka "The Five Year Rule) taking fully effect on April 1st, 2018, the General Union has conducted research via direct meetings with the Ministry of Health, Welfare, and Labour (MHWL), prefectural labour bureaus, meetings with lawyers, and various negotiations with employers in regards to their plans for this law.
Back in November of 2017, we also decided to take questions from members of the public (via Facebook and e-mail) and are now presenting those questions to you with our answers in hope that this will answer many of your questions about this law and how it could affect you.
