Japan Press Weekly

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2015 June 24 - 30 [LABOR]

Flight attendant takes Alitalia to court for ‘maternity harassment’

A Japanese flight attendant with Italy’s Alitalia on June 23 filed a lawsuit with the Tokyo District Court, claiming that the airline illegally terminated her employment contract during her maternity leave, demanding the cancellation of the contract termination and payment of back wages.

The plaintiff, a 32-year-old woman, argues that the company’s unilateral termination of her contract constituted an act of maternity harassment, maternity and pregnancy discrimination, and a violation of the Equal Employment Opportunity Law banning such unfair treatment.

The woman in March 2010 was hired by Alitalia as a contract flight attendant. While she was on unpaid maternity leave, the airline decided not to renew her contract which expired at the end of February 2013. After giving birth six months later, she joined the Japan Cabin Crew Union (JCC) which organizes individual cabin crew members across company lines.

After the filing, the plaintiff at a press conference in the district court building refuted the company’s argument that the termination of her contract was not because she got pregnant but because of the company’s financial difficulties. The flight attendant said that all her colleagues had their contracts renewed except those who quit voluntarily. It is obvious that Alitalia’s refusal to renew her contract was because of her pregnancy, she added.

JCC Chair Kiya Noriko criticizingly said that Alitalia had no justifiable grounds to terminate its employment contract with the plaintiff.

Another Japanese flight attendant of Alitalia also had an abrupt termination of her contract during her maternity leave. She managed to have the airline cancel the termination, but the company again terminated the contract. She is waging a battle against the company by using the labor tribunal system.