Japan Press Weekly

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2018 August 1 - 7 [LABOR]

Nippon Express sued for labor law violation

A male non-regular worker who was unfairly dismissed by the major logistics services company Nippon Express on July 31 filed with the Yokohama District Court a lawsuit claiming that the company’s dismissal should be retracted as it violates the Labor Contract Act.

The man was employed in July 2013 as a fixed-term contract worker and assigned to a Nippon Express office in Kawasaki City in Kanagawa Prefecture. His employment contract stated that his contract will expire in five years. However, he was told by the manager of the Kawasaki office that if the company has good performance, it would extend his employment contract. In June this year, the 38-year-old worker’s contract was terminated although the logistics company made a good profit.

He joined a union and negotiated collectively with Nippon Express. In the negotiations, it came to light that the company changed its employment rule supposedly in preparation for the implementation of the revised Labor Contract Act in April 2013 because the law enables non-regular workers who work for their employers for more than five years to obtain open-ended contracts.

According to the new Nippon Express employment rule, the employment contract of fixed-term employees, who worked less than three years as of April 1, 2013, will be terminated after five years’ service.

At a press conference after the filing, the plaintiff’s lawyer, Kawagishi Takuya, criticized Nippon Express for denying the revised Labor Contract Act aimed at promoting the conversion of fixed-term contract workers into indefinite-term employees. The lawyer stressed that the logistics company’s dismissal of the plaintiff should be null and void.

Regarding the unfair dismissal, Japanese Communist Party member of the House of Representatives Hatano Kimie in June, jointly with the dismissed worker, urged the Labor Ministry to instruct the company to abide by the law.

Past related article:
> JCP Hatano inquires into Nippon Express evading legal obligation to contingent workers [June 23, 2018]