Japan Press Weekly

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2015 June 3 - 9 [LABOR]

Kicking unions out of city office is illegal: Osaka High Court

The Osaka High Court ruled on June 2 that it is illegal for Osaka City Mayor Hashimoto Toru to have forcibly driven city worker unions’ offices out of the municipal office building. It ordered the city government to pay the unions a total of 2.5 million yen in compensation.

This ruling follows the Osaka District Court decision in September 2014 which also ruled in favor of the plaintiffs.

Soon after taking office in December 2011, Mayor Hashimoto unilaterally notified the unions that he will not allow them to use their offices in the city hall from April 2012. Three months later, the unions filed a lawsuit with the district court, claiming that the mayor’s notification is an unfair labor practice.

The high court judgment stated that the mayor abused his authority, pointing out that he issued the order without negotiating with the unions in his bid to hamper their activities in the city government office.

At a news conference after the ruling, a union executive said that it is very significant that the judiciary again recognized the mayor’s act as unlawful.

Past related article:
> Court rules Osaka Mayor’s attack on trade unions illegal [September 11, 2014]