March 27, 2015
The Tokyo High Court on March 26 turned down an appeal filed by ten former contingent workers at Isuzu Motors who were seeking regular status of Isuzu employment. The presiding judge did not even approve their claim for compensation.
The ten plaintiffs are members of the Isuzu Branch of the All-Japan Metal and Information Machinery Workers’ Union (JMIU). They used to work for Isuzu under non-regular employment contracts. In March 2009, their contracts were not renewed.
In court, they argued that there had been no need for the automaker to terminate their contracts at that time because its business performance had been on a recovery track. However, the judge rejected the questioning of the Isuzu president, who had previously stated that the company had a favorable business outlook at the time, as a witness and concluded that the termination of contracts was an unavoidable measure.
Isuzu Motors, in cooperation with staffing agencies, kept hiring these contingent workers by alternating fixed-term contracts with temporary contracts in order to evade the law requiring employers to offer regular positions to temporary workers after three years. Regarding this practice, the judge also disallowed the questioning of an Isuzu personnel manager as a witness who had actually been involved in such an act of circumvention of the law.
After the court decision, JMIU Isuzu Branch Chair Matsumoto Hirotoshi at a press conference said, “Are large corporations allowed to circumvent the law? This is appalling.” One of the plaintiffs, Gonohe Toyohiro said, “Are we, non-regular workers, treated as disposable trash?”
Past related articles:
> Isuzu sues workers for refusing to leave dormitory [February 7, 2013]
> Court rejects ex-Isuzu contingent workers’ demands [April 17, 2012]
> 12 laid-off workers sue Isuzu Motors [April 3, 2009]
The ten plaintiffs are members of the Isuzu Branch of the All-Japan Metal and Information Machinery Workers’ Union (JMIU). They used to work for Isuzu under non-regular employment contracts. In March 2009, their contracts were not renewed.
In court, they argued that there had been no need for the automaker to terminate their contracts at that time because its business performance had been on a recovery track. However, the judge rejected the questioning of the Isuzu president, who had previously stated that the company had a favorable business outlook at the time, as a witness and concluded that the termination of contracts was an unavoidable measure.
Isuzu Motors, in cooperation with staffing agencies, kept hiring these contingent workers by alternating fixed-term contracts with temporary contracts in order to evade the law requiring employers to offer regular positions to temporary workers after three years. Regarding this practice, the judge also disallowed the questioning of an Isuzu personnel manager as a witness who had actually been involved in such an act of circumvention of the law.
After the court decision, JMIU Isuzu Branch Chair Matsumoto Hirotoshi at a press conference said, “Are large corporations allowed to circumvent the law? This is appalling.” One of the plaintiffs, Gonohe Toyohiro said, “Are we, non-regular workers, treated as disposable trash?”
Past related articles:
> Isuzu sues workers for refusing to leave dormitory [February 7, 2013]
> Court rejects ex-Isuzu contingent workers’ demands [April 17, 2012]
> 12 laid-off workers sue Isuzu Motors [April 3, 2009]
