Japan Press Weekly

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2013 November 13 - 19 [LABOR]

Ex-social insurance agency workers sue for revocation of their unfair dismissals

Two former Social Insurance Agency workers on November 14 brought in the Tokyo District Court a lawsuit against the state for revocation of their dismissals following the closure and privatization of the SIA.

At the end of 2009, when the government led by Prime Minister Hatoyama Yukio of the Democratic Party of Japan abolished and privatized the SIA, which had run the public pension offices across Japan, 2,500 SIA employees lost their jobs. Most of them were able to obtain jobs at Japan Pension Service, the successor of the SIA. The Japan Pension Service, however, rejected reemployment of 525 former SIA workers with unclear reasons for doing so.

In 2010, of the 525 workers, 71 in Akita, Tokyo, Aichi, Kyoto, Kagawa, and Ehime prefectures filed a complaint with the National Personnel Authority, demanding that their dismissals be retracted, and 24 have won the authority’s decision to overturn their dismissals.

The lawsuit was filed by two of those whose retraction demand was refused by the authority. They live in Tokyo and are members of the All Health and Welfare Ministry Workers’ Union under the Japan Federation of National Public Service Employees’ Unions which is affiliated with the National Confederation of Trade Unions (Zenroren).

After the filing, 160 people, including the plaintiffs and their counsel and supporters, in a rally expressed determination to win a court order to have them reinstated to their original jobs.

Past related articles:
> Five gov’t workers’ dismissals nullified [June 11, 2013]
> Ex-social insurance agency workers demanding revocation of their dismissals [January 19, 2010]