Japan Press Weekly

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2012 February 15 - 21 [LABOR]

Top court nullifies 4 dismissals by Mitsubishi Paper subsidiary

The First Petty-Bench of the Supreme Court on February 9 turned down an appeal from a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Paper Mills Limited and upheld a lower court decision that nullified the dismissals of 4 union workers.

The case, in which 4 truck drivers of an Osaka-based delivery company fought for the retraction of their displacement, ended up in a victory for the union.

The truck drivers joined the All Japan Dockworkers’ Union (JDU) in September 2008 when the company moved its truck depot to a location 40km away from where the company is located.

They requested the company to hold a collecting bargaining negotiation with their union because they had difficulty in commuting to work due to the relocation of the truck depot. However, the carrier refused their request and assigned them to a different section. Although the 4 drivers complied with the transfer order, the company fired them for the reason that they created a troublesome situation.

The parent company, Mitsubishi Paper Mills Limited, informed the union that it would “follow the decision of the Supreme Court.”