Japan Press Weekly

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2013 July 31 - August 13 [LABOR]

2 union musicians sue orchestra for their dismissals

Two contrabass players who are union members on August 1 filed a lawsuit against Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra with the Yokohama District Court, seeking nullification of their dismissals.

They are 58-year-old Fusegi Kenji and 55-year-old Sugimoto Tadashi.

They argue that the orchestra has another union with which it reached an agreement to worsen their working conditions of orchestra members and that orchestra administrators targeted them in an attempt to undermine their union by ordering them to not appear in performances, refusing to hold collective bargaining talks, and eventually forcing them out.

After filing the case, their legal team head Tabuchi Daisuke at a news conference criticized the orchestra for repeating pay cuts for orchestra members and neglecting to protect musicians who are vital to the orchestra.

Plaintiff Fusegi said that they decided to take the case to court to defend the jobs of all orchestral players in Japan.

Past related articles:
> Orchestra musicians seek cancellation of unfair dismissals [November 9, 2012]
> Kanagawa orchestra members seek withdrawal of their dismissals [August 17, 2012]
> Kanagawa Orchestra members demand withdrawal of dismissals [July 5, 2012]