generalunion.orgFeatured

Skip to content Jump to main navigation and login Jump to additional information Nav view search Navigation Search Search... You are here: Home 言語 日本 Latest News Labor Bulletins Parity Campaign Join the General Union Request a Consultation Union Dues Contact Us Health and Pension Laws and Rights Sexual Harassment Unemployment Insurance About Us FAQ Donate Subscribe to e-news Log in Tokyo Fukuoka Nagoya Tokai University & College Pandemic Response - UPDATED The General Union sent information requests to 75 universities and senmon gakko across Japan where members and consultees work. We asked the following: 1. That all universities do not restart face-to-face classes from the second semester. 2. That teachers, especially those with either certified or uncertified underlying mental or physical health conditions or due to a more advanced age, or live with others in the same situation, be allowed to teach online. 3. As hybrid approaches that use both online and face-to-face lessons put a lot of extra burden on teachers, teachers not be required to prepare for hybrid approaches. 4. That your university be transparent in reporting outbreaks of Coronavirus at the institution" and/or "among faculties, students and staff". Approximately one-third have responded, you can find the information of the universities we wrote to and those that responded by clicking here . Labor Update Bulletin #96 (09/2020) This bulletin contains information on law changes, government discussions, court decisions, and other labor issues in Japan. We hope that some of this information will also be of interest to activists, supporters of the General Union, and those who want to know more about labor issues in general in Japan. Read more... Income Support and the Pandemic Many workers in Japan are suffering economically from the effects of the covid-19 pandemic. There is some relief. 1. Kyugyo Teate: salary benefits that your employer must pay if there is no work for you and you are sent home. 2. Employment Adjustment Subsidy: paid to employers to cover KYUGYO TEATE payments to employees. 3. Sustainment Benefit for Freelancers: if you are a non-employee (like many members at GABA and NOVA), you can apply to receive up to one million yen in benefits. 4. Special Cash Payment: 100,000 yen subsidy available to all who were registered residents of Japan as of 27 April 2020. Please see an explanation of the four systems at this link . Unbelievable. Uncooperative. Unacceptable. NOVA Never Stops Surprising The union entered our September 11th collective bargaining session with a positive attitude: NOVA, after a summer of strikes, had told us that they wanted to build a positive relationship with the union. However, our hope for reaching an agreement on a number of issues (especially those regarding the pandemic) was deflated almost as soon as the talks began. We had hoped that NOVA, like other employers in the language industry, would agree to a system to help prevent incidents of coronavirus infection by establishing an information sharing system with the union. At other language school employers, the union sends a weekly list of issues in the schools which are potentially hazardous in regards to coronavirus prevention. Basically, the union uses the many eyes of union members to make sure the schools are doing as much as possible to keep teachers, staff, and students, safe. ECC commented that they were, "not only happy that the union initiated this system, but thankful for the union's full cooperation." Keep reading and see if you can spot the difference between ECC and NOVA's response to our offer of help... Read more... Help us make GABA a better workplace for all by signing the petition You too can back the union demands by signing our petition at www.bit.ly/gabapetition . The recent coronavirus outbreak has highlighted serious inadequacies such as a lack of physical and financial security for Gaba instructors. The company has faced various disasters such as the March 11th 2011 triple disaster, Typhoon Hagibis #19 in 2019, and this year’s COVID-19 pandemic. While Gaba continually makes changes to the contract to suit the operational concerns of the company, such as the introduction of the recent online lessons, Gaba does not likewise amend the contract to respond to important issues for instructors. When it responds to these, it does so on an ad hoc basis in the form of temporary changes such as with a “Letter of Understanding” which also does not fully take into consideration the voices of instructors. These are also done unilaterally. Read more... Yamahara Katsuji - Memorial - 27 September Please join us via zoom on Sunday, 27 September at 1930 for a celebration of his life. You can RSVP your attendance at www.bit.ly/Yamahara . ---Obituary 24 July 2020--- He was known popularly to General Union members simply as Yamahara. No mister, no sir; just affectionately called Yamahara - and one of the most unpretentious people you could have ever met. On 23 July 2020, Yamahara passed away quietly at his home 73 years after his birth in Sumiyoshi-ku, Osaka. A union organiser since finishing school, Yamahara worked for many years for the General Council of Trade Unions of Japan (Sohyo) affiliated Metal and Machinery Workers Union (Zenkin) until its merger into the Japan Trade Union Confederation (Rengo). (see www.bit.ly/YamaharaObituary to keep reading). Is GETTING PAID ON TIME Too Much To Ask For At NPO GLAD? (OP-ED) This is what I (a member of the General Union) asked myself when I worked there. For the past couple of years, the union has been dealing with one primary issue at this ALT dispatch company: the delayed payment of wages. For me it started like this. Just before my salary was due, I received an email from the company director claiming that they had some vague banking problems that were causing delays. Have you ever heard of something like this before? To me it sounded like something else... Read more... New 2020 System Leads To Wage Cuts For ALTs The General Union has been dealing with consultations and grievances from union and non-union members at many different boards of education regarding pay cuts since the new “KAIKEI NENDO NINYO SHOKUIN” system went into place for direct-hire ALTs. As part of the new system, bonuses are allowed (but not mandated), so many boards of education have started to pay bonuses in June and December. Great! Unfortunately, even with bonuses, many people have seen their salaries stay the same as they were before the “KAIKEI NENDO NINYO SHOKUIN” system took effect, and some have even seen their salary reduced... Read more... Demands Sent To 75 Universities And Colleges To Stop Face-to-Face Lessons After a meeting attended by union members working in universities and professional training colleges (senmon gakko), due to concerns about the spread of COVID-19, the General Union has submitted demands to 75 universities . You can find the responses as they come in by clicking here. Union members view the possibility of a return to face-to face-lessons amidst an explosive new growth in coronavirus infections with both anxiety and alarm. While we understand that many universities are being pressured by MEXT and even parents to reopen campuses as soon as possible, if university campuses resume face-to-face lessons thousands of employees and students will be put at risk. There is now considerable evidence that university age students, although less likely to develop serious symptoms, can be a major vector in the spread of the virus to those working in universities, to their classmates, and to their families. Our members and our union believe that the resumption of on-campus classes at the present time would be a disastrous move from the standpoint of public health. Read more... Obituary: Remembering Yamahara Katsuji 1947 - 2020 He was known popularly to General Union members simply as Yamahara. No mister, no sir; just affectionately called Yamahara - and one of ...