Japan Press Weekly

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2018 June 27 - July 3 [LABOR]

Ex-leader of a local bus workers' union wins in court

The Osaka High Court on July 2 nullified disciplinary punishment imposed by a bus service operator in Shiga Prefecture against a union leader, ordering the company to pay him back wages.

Overturning the decision given by a lower court in April 2017, the high court ruled entirely in favor of the plaintiff.

Yagihashi Kiyotomo, who was the head of the Teisan-Konan-Kotsu workers' union, was fighting in court seeking the withdrawal of disciplinary action unilaterally taken by the company.

Yagihashi in an interview with Akahata four years ago spoke of the cruel working conditions of drivers. After Akahata in August 2014 reported on how Teisan-Konan-Kotsu bus drivers were actually treated, the company held a punishment committee meeting without the attendance of any union representatives and placed the union chair on suspension for ten days.

The high court acknowledged that the information was provided "for the purpose of serving the public interest" and "was proved to be true", recognizing Yagihashi's act of information provision as legal and the disciplinary action against him as invalid.

After the court decision, the former union leader said, "I rejected a proposed settlement because what I wanted was the repeal of the lower court decision," and thanked his supporters for their help.

Past related article:
> Local bus service operator works drivers hard and outsources its service [August 22, 2014]