Japan Press Weekly

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2018 February 28 - March 6 [LABOR]

Local labor relations authority recognizes Nissan Motor's unfair labor practice

The Kanagawa Prefectural Labor Relations Commission on February 27 recognized Nissan Motor's refusal to negotiate with a union to which Nissan temporary workers belong as an unfair labor practice and issued relief orders for them.

The Japan Metal, Manufacturing, Information and Telecommunication Workers' Union (JMITU) and lawyers found this decision as a breakthrough, citing that there has been no precedent in past rulings which state that companies supplied with labor from temporary staff agencies are, in substance, "employers".

Nissan Motor and its subsidiary Nissan Shatai in March 2009 terminated the contracts of several agency workers (three in the former, two in the latter). The JMITU Kanagawa branch demanded negotiations, but the two companies refused the demand with the claim that they are "not their employers". The five workers then filed a claim for relief with the labor relations commission.

The local employment relations authority ruled that Nissan managed and made decisions on hiring or ending contracts of these workers, and that Nissan at its own initiative should resolve the labor dispute through collective negotiations. As for the practice by Nissan Shatai, however, the commission did not recognize it as unfair.

The five claimants said that they will continue asking the two makers for talks perseveringly to reach a settlement.

Past related article:
> Non-regular workers sue Nissan over dismissals [May 13, 2009]