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2021 March 10 - 16 TOP3 [LABOR]

Union’s strike succeeds in forcing NTT to promise to provide equal treatment to non-regular workers

In response to a strike by the Japan Metal, Manufacturing, Information, and Telecommunication Workers' Union (JMITU), NTT announced that it will narrow the gap between regular and non-regular workers in terms of paid leaves and allowances in line with JMITU demands, Akahata learned on March 15.

In addition, regarding the union’s pay hike demand, NTT said that it will accept part of the demand.

In the first round of negotiations in this year’s “shunto” spring wage offensive which took place at the beginning of last week, NTT turned its back on the union’s demand for higher wages. In protest against the company’s response, the JMITU local at NTT on March 11 went on strike.

After negotiating with the union on March 11 and March 12, NTT reversed its previous response and promised to offer a pay hike, but did not offer any details. Furthermore, the company said that it will correct unequal treatment of regular and non-regular workers in regard to the company’s systems for special leaves and allowances. Specifically, the company will improve its special leave scheme to enable non-regular workers to take summer holidays, childcare leave, menstrual leave, and other company-specific holidays at the same level as regular workers. In addition, the company will provide meal allowances to all non-regular workers and dependent allowances to non-regular workers who are employed in the company’s open-ended employment arrangement.

JMITU-affiliated NTT union head Usami Shun’ichi said, “Our strike action led to the company’s promise to provide equal treatment to non-regular workers. This is a significant accomplishment. We’ll work even harder to win better wages for all NTT workers.”

The National Confederation of Trade Unions (Zenroren), which JMITU is affiliated with, calls on its member unions to stage fight against business circles’ attempt to curb wages in this year’s “shunto” wage bargaining round. In this context, it is significant that the JMITU organization won the withdrawal of NTT’s refusal to offer a pay raise.