Japan Press Weekly

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2014 October 22 - 28 [LABOR]

Citizens make prosecutors reinvestigate Waseda Univ.’s unfair labor practice

A committee for the inquest of prosecution in Tokyo recently determined that it is inappropriate for the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office not to have indicted Waseda University’s executives who were accused of violating the Labor Standards Law.

The committee, composed of 11 people randomly chosen from among the general public, is organized to examine the disposition of non-prosecution. Following the committee’s resolution, the prosecutors office is to launch a reinvestigation.

In March 2013, the university authority revised its work rules to set a five-year limit on the term of contracts with part-time lecturers. This move came shortly before the revised Labor Contract Act, which enables non-regular workers to obtain an open-ended contract after working five years for the same employer, came into effect the following month. The amendment to the work rules was allegedly intended to evade the new regulation.

Article 90 of the Labor Standards Law requires employers to ask for the opinion of a representative of the majority of employees when changing working rules.

Part-time teachers at the university and their union filed a criminal complaint against the university president and the director in charge of personnel affairs with the public prosecutors office, claiming that the management prevented part-time lecturers from voting in the election for a workers’ representative. In December 2013, the prosecutors decided not to indict the suspects and the teachers lodged a complaint against the decision with the inquest of prosecution.

The latest determination made by the committee noted that the management placed notices for the election into part-time teachers’ mailboxes at the university while the school was closed due to the entrance examination. Pointing out that the vote is very likely to have taken place before many part-time lecturers even knew about it, the committee demanded a fresh investigation into the case.

If the prosecution drops the case again and once more the committee judges it improper, the suspects will be taken to court automatically.

Past related article:
> Part-time teachers at Waseda Univ. form union against unfair termination of contracts [September 23, 2013]