Japan Press Weekly

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2016 October 12 - 18 [LABOR]

Emirates ordered to revoke dismissals of 3 Japanese union workers

The Osaka Prefectural Government’s Labor Relations Commission on October 14 announced that it recently ordered Emirates airline to revoke its dismissal of three unionized Japanese employees as it constitutes an unfair labor practice.

The three workers entered the Dubai-based airline company in 2012 and were assigned to a customer contact center for ticketing in Osaka Prefecture. In January the following year, they formed their union in order to resolve the issues of unpaid overtime and power harassment from their boss. The union is affiliated with the Skynetwork which organizes individual workers in the aviation industry under the umbrella of the Japan Federation of Aviation Workers’ Union (Kohkuren).

In June 2014, Emirates ordered the three to stand by at home after closing down the contact center under the pretext of a drop in company performance and dismissed them three months later.

Skynetwork Secretary General Takeshima Masahiro said, “It is clear that the company fired the three union activists with the aim of eliminating the union calling for an end to power harassment and overtime without pay. The company should offer their jobs back to them.”