Japan Press Weekly

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2023 October 11 - 17 [LABOR]

Yamato Transport part-time workers form union to demand cancellation of mass dismissals

Seeking to push Yamato Transport Co., Japan’s largest delivery company, to cancel its mass dismissal plan, 18 part-time workers working at the company’s logistics terminal in Ibaraki Prefecture on October 13 formed their union.

At the inaugural meeting on the day, in addition to the cancellation of the dismissal plan, members of the union, which is affiliated with the All Japan Construction, Transport and General Workers' Union (Kenkoro), confirmed that they will fight against the company’s forcible retirement attempt and urge the company to offer severance packages that meet the expectations of targeted workers who decide to quit their jobs. They also approved the strike authorization.

Yamato Transport and Japan Post in June reached an agreement that Yamato’s direct-mail business will be transferred to Japan Post. Based on this agreement, Yamato plans to dismiss part-time workers doing direct mail-sorting work by terminating their employment contracts at the end of January 2024.

The Kenkoro branch, three days after its establishment, held collective bargaining talks with the company at Yamato’s head office in Tokyo, demanding the cancellation of the restructuring plan.

At a press conference after the collective negotiation, branch head Hayashino Satsuki said, “The company said, ‘Not layoffs.’ However, it gave no clear answers to our questions.”