The General Union In The Japan Times: "Unions Can Offer A Hand"

Our venerable Union Chair, Dennis Tesolat, recently fielded a question from Japan Times writer Louise George Kittaka in regards to a labor issue in the eikaiwa (language school) industry.

In this "SPECIAL TO THE JAPAN TIMES" article for the newspaper's "LIFELINES" community column, Dennis answers the question of what can be done if you left your previous company on bad terms, and what approach to take if the same company is refusing to give you the salary or documents that they owe you.

"The employer's obligation to provide you with a certificate of employment, tax papers and your last month's wages are clearly outlined in Articles 22, 23 and 24 of the Labor Standards Law. To make a really long story short: yes, they owe you all of these things," he says. "Once requested, an employer has seven days to pay your final wages and other goods which belong to you — our opinion is that this includes tax papers — and to provide you with a certificate of employment.

"Unions have legal rights to demand, negotiate, and dispute. While we can't always deal forcefully with every employer, a union can also represent you at the LSO; and in my personal experience, they are less willing to blow you off when you have a union on your side."

- From The Japan Times

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In line with the Japan Times' link policy, this is only 20% of the full article.

To read the entire article, please visit:
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2017/05/14/how-tos/unions-can-offer-hand-dealing-recalcitrant-employers/

As a bonus to General Union readers who are reading this on the General Union website (hi!), here's the extra final paragraph that was cut from the Japan Times article for space:

"While the General Union may help non-members who join with a problem, we ask that you remember one thing: we are not a cheap lawyer and, if you join, we expect you to remain in the union."

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