Japan Press Weekly

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2020 February 11 - 18 [LABOR]

Central labor authority orders Emirates Airlines to reinstate 3 dismissed workers

The Central Labor Relations Commission on February 13 issued a written order stating that Emirates Airlines must place three laid-off workers, who are union members, back to work.

The central labor relations board judged that Emirates Airlines is still hostile toward the union by not reinstating the three workers, and ordered the company to immediately hold labor-management talks in order to promptly find appropriate workplaces for the three workers.

The Skynetwork union, which organizes individual workers in the aviation industry and is affiliated with the Japan Federation of Aviation Workers Unions, and the lawyers of the three workers stated that the labor board "has made a meaningful judgement toward an early settlement of the labor dispute".

The three workers were engaged in air-ticket bookings and issuing in an Emirates Airlines branch in Osaka City. In January 2013, they joined the Skynetwork union seeking an end to workplace power harassment and a solution to the unpaid overtime issue through collective bargaining. However, the UAE-based airlines in May 2015 suddenly announced the closure of its reservation center in Japan and dismissed workers who rejected the company's early retirement offer. Both the Osaka Local Labor Relations Commission and the Osaka District Court recognized the dismissals of the three to be invalid. Nevertheless, the company has yet to put them back to work. It only paid them some money in compensation.

Past related article:
> Emirates Airline gives up appealing court decision in unfair dismissal case [April 24, 2018]
> Court nullifies Emirates’ dismissal of three female workers [November 6, 2017]
> Emirates ordered to revoke dismissals of 3 Japanese union workers [October 15, 2016]