14 young workers reach victorious out-of-court settlement with employer

Fourteen young workers dismissed by the photo finish service chain operator "45 Corporation" on May 28 reached an out of court settlement with the company at the Saitama District Court.

45 Corporation accepted responsibility for the unfair dismissals of the 14 workers and agreed to pay settlements equal to 12-month in wages to 11 ex-workers and six-month in wages to three who had wished to quit.

However, the employer stopped short of accepting the demand that fired workers be reinstated.

The young workers who filed the lawsuit against 45 Corporation had been fired shortly after they joined a general workers union and filed a complaint with the Labor Standards Inspection Office about the harsh working conditions, including human rights violations.

Since they had no union experience, they first sought help from Togashi Renzo, Japanese Communist Party member of the House of Councilors, who introduced them to the local general workers union affiliated with the National Confederation of Trade Unions (Zenroren).

45 Corporation broke itself up into 12 companies and transferred these workers before firing them. In the court, it insisted that it had no responsibility for the dismissals because they were fired by companies created after the break-up.

The court in April upheld 45 Corporation's claim, but the fired workers continued to fight and finally reached the out of court settlement. (end)