Japan Press Weekly

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2012 February 8 - 14 [LABOR]

80,000 sign petition for withdrawal of JAL workers’ dismissals

Laid-off Japan Airline workers on February 9 submitted to the Tokyo District Court 12,000 petition signatures calling on the court to make a fair decision in a lawsuit demanding the withdrawal of their dismissals. The number of signatures submitted to the court has reached 82,500 in total.

At the end of 2010, JAL abruptly dismissed 165 pilots and cabin attendants. Of them, 146 filed a lawsuit the following month in January.

In the petition, the plaintiffs’ group points out that at the end of FY2011, the company projected a profit of 180 billion yen, exceeding its initial goal of 75.8 billion yen.

Furthermore, they stress that since their dismissals, 20 pilots, 35 copilots, and 421 cabin attendants have quit their jobs, which has resulted in a staff shortage, and that the JAL group is considering hiring cabin attendants.

JAL Chair Inamori Kazuo admitted in testimony at the trial that JAL obtains sufficient profits and that it was possible to avoid firing the plaintiffs. The court will issue its ruling at the end of March.