Rainbow International And Ineffective Bureaucracy
Back in August (2016), we reported that - because of union action - there had been an excellent ruling by the Chuo (Osaka) Labor Standards Office against Rainbow International School over its culture of unpaid overtime. Unfortunately, we may have pressed that "upload to website button" a little too quickly...
Senri International Campus Set To Close Saturday School?
At the end of March, 2016, teachers who work on the special programs at Kwansei Gakuin’s Senri International Campus ("Saturday School" and the summer vacation "Just for Kids" program) were told that these programs would be closed from the end of March, 2018.
More Unpaid Overtime At Rainbow International; More Action From The General Union
The General Union has, in the past, locked horns with Rainbow International School over their culture of unpaid overtime. Indeed, as we wrote in our 2015-2016 union activity report:
"We have dealt with unpaid overtime here in the past and won payment. We are taking up the issue again this year but the person has left Japan and the company may not be so ready to settle. If not, it will be a good opportunity to use the Labor Standards Office and have an official order made.
Takatsuki City fails to settle dispute , Case will go to final judgement
With the outcome looking bad for Takatsuki City, the Osaka Labor Relations Commission had proposed to Takatsuki City that they settle our Unfair Labor Practices case by agreeing with the union’s proposal to start talks with Toowoomba City to restart the AET program in line with Japanese employment laws.
Yesterday though, on June 17th, 2016, Takatsuki City told the Commission that they were refusing this proposal and that they are ready to wait for the ruling of Osaka Labor Relations Commission. Ridiculous enough, they also told Osaka Labor Relations Commission, “The friendship activities between two cities are going well EXCEPT the AET Ambassador Exchange Program.”
Osaka City University's Threat To Outsource Its Own Teachers Invokes Union Intervention
In March of this year (2016), sixteen part-time teachers at the Osaka City University (OCU) - located in Sumiyoshi-ku, Osaka, received new contracts to sign which had, unbeknownst to them, been changed from previous contracts to include a clause stating that THIS contract would be their final employment contract with the university.
Many teachers signed the contract - which was only given to them in Japanese - without realizing that the contract (which was, for all intents and purposes, otherwise identical to previous contracts) had been altered to include the new "final contract" clause.
In addition, the university abstained from verbally informing the teachers of the additional clause, perhaps hoping that they would not notice its inclusion...
Takatsuki City Wastes ¥1,296,000
In May of 2015, the General Union was able to win retroactive enrollment in unemployment insurance (雇用保険; koyou hoken) for the former direct-hire ALTs (AETs) of Takatsuki city. At that time, the city argued that, despite having an employment contract with those ALTs, the ALTs themselves were not employees, and therefore should not have received unemployment insurance.
Wait, what?
Takatsuki City Caught Lying (Again)
If you follow General Union news fairly regularly, you'll know that one of our larger cases (in recent history) has involved the Takatsuki Board of Education and the previous AETs who suffered as a result of exposing many of the illegalities that the city was involved in. (See: "Takatsuki City Out Of Control")
As we continue to fight that fight, more and more developments keep revealing themselves to us. Case in point: we just caught more of the Board of Education's lies.
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Victory at Doshisha International Academy – More Successes to Follow?
In a major victory at Doshisha International Academy, the General Union has been able to overturn five-year contract limits for our members.
As of last April (2016), all of our members received contracts that had no limit on renewals. This had been a major demand of our union.
Caveat Subscriptor: World Kinder Interational School, Takasaki
While many may be aware of the Latin term of "caveat emptor" (meaning "buyer beware"), there is another term that you might not be aware of that is very apt in the context of reading contracts: Caveat Subscriptor - Signer Beware.
Although Japanese business owners are known to treat worker rights with some degree of contempt, it is often the case that foreign owners are even worse. Be it due to ignorance of labor laws, a lack of understanding of the culture, or just a general feeling that they are above the law due to not being Japanese, many of the worse problems that foreign employees face come from other foreigners.
This is one of those cases: beware of World Kinder International School, Takasaki.
Takatsuki Opts For Alienation Instead Of Reconciliation
In the weeks and months since the scandal broke, both unions and citizens of Takatsuki alike have urged the mayor of the city to restart the beleaguered AET program.
The enduring fight waged by Takatsuki AET union members has gone so far as to involve the city of Toowoomba in Australia - the city which recruited and sent the AETs to Takatsuki in the first place.
More Articles...
- The Conundrum of Confiscating Cellphones at Kansai International Academy
- Otemon - Language Education Without Language Teachers
- Honest Mistake? Thieves? Only Time Will Tell...
- Takatsuki City and the Difference Between Truth and Lies
- On employers, lies and laws – more lessons from Takatsuki BoE
- Kun'ei teachers win computers and pay rises
- GENERAL UNION helps Osaka CNET win Workers Accident Insurance
- Lessons learned in the fight at Takatsuki Board of Education
- Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease & The Case For Paid Sick Leave
- Another win in our fight against Takastuki Board of Education
Subcategories
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Ashiya Gakuen
- Article Count:
- 3
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General Schools
- Article Count:
- 22
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Kun`ei
- Article Count:
- 4
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Seibo Gakuen
- Article Count:
- 1
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Kindergartens
- Article Count:
- 11
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Osaka C-NETs
- Article Count:
- 6
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Takatsuki AETs
- Article Count:
- 15
