Court rules dismissals are invalid

Former employees of an auto parts manufacturer won an overall victory in their lawsuit calling for a court injunction to maintain their status as employees.

The Nagano District Court on November 18 ordered the company, Tohoku Judenso, to pay a temporary wage in advance to the workers who had been dismissed following a plant closing.

In September 2002, the company announced that it will merge with another firm and that its factory in Ueda City will be closed. The workers were asked to either transfer to a plant in Iwate Prefecture or quit. Establishing a union, 25 workers brought their case to court in July 2003.

Japanese Communist Party Nagano Prefectural Assembly member Takamura Kyoko has supported the union members from the outset.

In the Diet, former JCP House of Representatives member Kijima Hideo made representations to Sumitomo Wiring Systems, Ltd., the parent company of Tohoku Judenso.

The plaintiffs made a statement on the same day, expressing their satisfaction with the court ruling and their determination to continue to make efforts to be able to return to work. (end)