Flight attendants in child-rearing years sue JAL

Two flight attendants of Japan Airlines International Company, Ltd. (formerly Japan Airlines Co., Ltd.) on June 23 filed a lawsuit against the company with the Tokyo District Court over an arbitrary pay cut.

Japan Airlines gave only one or two workdays per month to Muranaka Yoshimi, 43, and Nakai Mariko, 48, who applied for an exemption from night shifts in accordance with the Child Care Leave Law, resulting in a substantial pay cut.

After bringing the case to court, Muranaka said, "I've had a tough time economically, but I want to pave the way for younger flight attendants to be able to continue their careers while raising children."

When JAL merged with Japan Air System Co., Ltd. in 2003, it proposed a labor agreement to give a five-day month to those who are exempt from night shifts as cabin attendants. JAL also proposed that these flight attendants' days off would be without pay.

Some members of the Japan Airlines Cabin Attendants' Union, however, rejected the proposal. The company then started giving them only one or two days of duty. As a result, wages became somewhere between one third and one twenty of their original wages. (end)