Japan Press Weekly

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2012 January 18 - 24 [LABOR]

Unionized school teachers win retraction of disciplinary action

Unionized private high school teachers in a lawsuit against their school on January 16 in the Osaka High Court reached a court-mediated settlement in which the school retracted a work suspension order and pay cut taken against the teachers.

The plaintiffs are two teachers at Kinki University Senshu High School, Kawasaki Hatsuji and Sakurai Junya. They are members of the Osaka Private School Teachers and Staff Union.

The school punished Kawasaki with an eight-day work suspension and a 25% pay cut for reading his union’s organ paper on a computer during break time. The school also reduced Sakurai’s salary on the grounds that he had distributed to his colleagues’ desks a flyer calling for support for a union member struggling to urge the school to revoke his dismissal.

In the settlement, the school agreed to rescind the reprimand of Kawasaki and Sakurai, to compensate for reduced wages, and to negotiate with their union in compliance with the Japanese Constitution and the Trade Union Law.

Kawasaki said, “Our union member is still fighting against the school’s unfair dismissal. Utilizing the settlement, we will make further efforts to demand better working conditions.”