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2011 December 21 - 2012 January 5 TOP3 [LABOR]

Kyoto broadcast workers’ union wins extension of casual staff’s employment period

Akahata Sunday edition

In Kyoto City, where 40% of workers are contingent workers and the percentage of such workers in their early 20s is the nation’s highest at 60%, the Kyoto Broadcasting System Workers’ Union succeeded in extending 100 contingent workers’ contracts for another year.

The Kyoto Broadcasting System (KBS Kyoto) employs 100 casual staff members under one-year contracts. Of them, 22 work on a full-time basis and 78 on a part-time basis. They are employed only for 24 months because their contracts can be renewed only once.

When five casual staff joined the union, it surveyed all casual staff’s employment situation and found out that many of them are calling for a longer contract period.

A male casual staff doing clerical work on a full-time basis facing the end of his second contract period visited the union and said that he has financial difficulties because he has to take care of his sickly wife and hospitalized mother. He asked the union to help him to be able to work longer. In response to his demand, the KBS workers’ union requested that the company increase the contract period to five years from the present two years.

After holding four sessions of collective bargaining, KBS on November 22 decided to expand the contract term of 22 full-time casual staff to three years. Just three days later, the company announced that the contract term of 78 part-time casual staff will also be extended to the same period as the full-time staff.

The male casual staff said, “Even though it’s only for one additional year, I’m glad that the contract term has been extended. I’m also surprised that the extension of the contract term has been applied to all 100 casual staff. To voice our demands is important.”

A vice chair of the union said, “This is the first time that the KBS made a change in employment contracts since it started broadcasting in 1951. We have placed importance on the struggle to protect employment. We will continue to further our effort to achieve a five-year contract.”