July 7, 2015
Workers at a company developing nuclear fuel cycles filed a lawsuit on July 6 with the Mito District Court in Ibaraki Prefecture, seeking an end to wage discrimination against them.
The plaintiffs are four employees of the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA). They demand that the company pay them a total of more than 110 million yen in compensation, which they say is equivalent to the amount of wages they should have received.
The petition filed by the plaintiffs notes that the JAEA and its predecessor, the Japan Nuclear Cycle Development Institute (JNC), have been hostile to the four employees because they have consistently pushed the firm to place top priority on safety in developing the nuclear fuel cycle system. It claims that the management has discriminated against the plaintiffs by labeling them as “troublemakers”.
At a news conference after the filing, the complainants said, “Those who treated us unjustly were promoted rapidly. Every time a section manager was changed, they ‘advised’ us to give the management a written pledge not to associate with ‘troublemakers’.” The four workers stated that they decided to bring their case to court in order to help to create a workplace where all workers can feel free to speak.
The plaintiffs’ lawyer, Hirai Tetsufumi, said that some materials he obtained indicate that the company had drawn up employee evaluations with the help of local police and the Public Security Investigation Agency.
Past related article:
> NRA orders Monju fast breeder reactor to stay offline [May 14, 2013]
The plaintiffs are four employees of the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA). They demand that the company pay them a total of more than 110 million yen in compensation, which they say is equivalent to the amount of wages they should have received.
The petition filed by the plaintiffs notes that the JAEA and its predecessor, the Japan Nuclear Cycle Development Institute (JNC), have been hostile to the four employees because they have consistently pushed the firm to place top priority on safety in developing the nuclear fuel cycle system. It claims that the management has discriminated against the plaintiffs by labeling them as “troublemakers”.
At a news conference after the filing, the complainants said, “Those who treated us unjustly were promoted rapidly. Every time a section manager was changed, they ‘advised’ us to give the management a written pledge not to associate with ‘troublemakers’.” The four workers stated that they decided to bring their case to court in order to help to create a workplace where all workers can feel free to speak.
The plaintiffs’ lawyer, Hirai Tetsufumi, said that some materials he obtained indicate that the company had drawn up employee evaluations with the help of local police and the Public Security Investigation Agency.
Past related article:
> NRA orders Monju fast breeder reactor to stay offline [May 14, 2013]
