Japan Press Weekly

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2022 December 14 - 20 [LABOR]

Unfairly dismissed contract lecturer wins reinstatement to former position

In a labor dispute over the unfair dismissal of a female contract lecturer by Tsurukawa High School, a private high school in Tokyo’s Machida City, with the aim of evading the legal obligation to provide an open-ended position, the school agreed to settle the dispute by reinstating the lecturer to her former position.

This was made public at a rally held on December 13 by the National Federation of Private School Teachers and Staff Unions (Shikyoren) to which the woman lecturer belongs.

According to Shikyoren, the school promises to end its discrimination against the woman and six other union members.

The woman worked at Tsurukawa High School as a contract lecturer for 27 years, but her contract was abruptly terminated in March 2018. She brought her case to the court by claiming that the school dismissed her for the purpose of evading its obligation under the Labor Contract Act to convert her contract to an open-ended one. She won court decisions in support of her claim in March 2021 in the Tokyo District Court as well as in June 2022 in the Tokyo High Court. The high court decision was already finalized.

Past related article:
> Court recognizes dismissal of contract lecturer by private high school as unfair labor practice [March 20, 2021]