Japan Press Weekly

Tweet

2012 December 19 - 25 [LABOR]

Fired worker of medical device firm wins victory in court

The Nagano District Court on December 21 nullified the dismissal of a worker by a medical-device manufacturer and ordered the company to pay 9.64 million yen in back pay and compensation to the worker, an overall victory for a plaintiff.

After the court decision, plaintiff Yamamoto Tamotsu said, “with this court victory, I want the company to comply with labor laws, improve working conditions, stop forcing workers whom the president dislikes to quit, and put an end to the reign of terror.”

His lawyer said, “I will press the company to not appeal to a higher court and get him back on the job as soon as possible.”

Yamamoto, who is in his 40s, worked as a salesperson at RF Co., Ltd. In March 2009, because the company president showed up dead drunk at a meeting, Yamamoto asked him to adjourn the meeting on that day. Soon after that incident, the president began rebuking and verbally abusing Yamamoto and even said that he would be transferred to Africa.

Yamamoto then visited a chemical and general workers’ union to ask for advice and decided to join the union. After that, he was transferred to a company branch 450 km away against his will.

After he and his union requested a labor-management negotiation, the company escalated its harassment against him. He was finally fired and kicked out of his residence in company housing in January 2010.