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| '''The National Union of General Workers''' (NUGW) is the largest ] for foreign and ] in ] with offices in Fukuoka, Osaka and Tokyo. The union has a history almost as long as that of legalized organised labour in Japan. | '''The National Union of General Workers''' (NUGW) is the largest ] for foreign and ] in ] with offices in Fukuoka, Osaka and Tokyo. The union has a history almost as long as that of legalized organised labour in Japan. | ||
| The union |
The union has a membership numbering several thousand workers throughout Japan, and that about a quarter of these members are foreign nationals. According to the union, most non-Japanese members are employed in ] (English-language teaching in Japan) and English language newspapers, while many Japanese members are employed in the publishing industry. NUGW represents branch unions at dozens of English language schools including ], ], ], ] and Interac. | ||
| ==Activities== | ==Activities== | ||
| The union engages in ], rallies and leafletings, filing injunctions and arguing cases at the Labour Commission and Tokyo District Court on issues such as the non-enrollment of employees into National Health Insurance (shakai hoken), illegal outsourcing of Assistant Language Teachers by public schools (gyomu itaku), and unfair dismissals due to one-year contracts. | The union engages in ], rallies and leafletings, filing injunctions and arguing cases at the Labour Commission and Tokyo District Court on issues such as the non-enrollment of employees into National Health Insurance (shakai hoken), illegal outsourcing of Assistant Language Teachers by public schools (gyomu itaku), and unfair dismissals due to one-year contracts. | ||
| ⚫ | Representatives of the National Union of General Workers Tokyo South have served as reporters to the United Nations rapporteur on the ]; the General Union (Osaka) has official consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). | ||
| The foreign leaders and activists of the NUGW include Dennis Tesolat, ], Paul Dorey, John McNeill, Catherine Campbell and Bob Tench. | |||
| ==Recognition== | |||
| The migrant worker union movement has gained recognition over the years as being on the leading edge of progressive change in Japan. As in most countries, ] face the worst of circumstances since they may be easily deported back to their home countries. NUGW, ] and the ] have been recognized by the union movement and the ] as the standard bearers for worker rights in the manufacturing and service industries not just for migrant workers, but for workers in general in Japan. | |||
| ==Antagonists to the Union== | |||
| ⚫ | Representatives of the National Union of General Workers Tokyo South have served as reporters to the United Nations rapporteur on the Committee to Eliminate Racial Discrimination; the General Union (Osaka) has official consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). | ||
| With the private language teaching industry being dominated by corporate interests such as Nova Corporation, those working in the interests of management seek to discredit and slander the Union whenever possible. One case in point is an anonymous article in Metropolis Magazine against social insurance rights for migrant workers. By using an anonymous author for the article, no one is accountable to reporting accurate and truthful statements. | |||
| The private language school industry in Japan is unique in being the only industry in any country where foreign teachers are not granted their social insurance rights. This is because, private language schools, as all employers, must then pay half of costs for worker protection plans such as National Health Insurance. | |||
| ==Criticisms== | |||
| The union has been criticized for its aggressive militancy in pursuing the Shakai Hoken (National Health Insurance) issue. An editorial in ] argued that the union's actions would actually harm the majority of teachers and force the wider community of foreigners working in Japan to pay high premiums with less coverage than alternative, private, schemes. The article argued that allowing foreigners to opt out of the insurance scheme was a benefit to all but a small number of long-term employees. | |||
| ==Criticism== | |||
| The actual number of the union's members is disputed. The union itself does not publicly disclose the number. | |||
| The union has been criticized by ] interests for pursuing the fight for social insurance coverage for migrant workers in Japan - the shakai hoken issue. This consists of a single anonymous comment by a woman incognito in an pro-corporate publication ] which is affiliated with ] - owned by controversial price-fixing CEO ]. | |||
| ==External links== | ==External links== | ||
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Revision as of 04:53, 28 October 2006
The National Union of General Workers (NUGW) is the largest trade union for foreign and migrant workers in Japan with offices in Fukuoka, Osaka and Tokyo. The union has a history almost as long as that of legalized organised labour in Japan.
The union has a membership numbering several thousand workers throughout Japan, and that about a quarter of these members are foreign nationals. According to the union, most non-Japanese members are employed in Eikaiwa (English-language teaching in Japan) and English language newspapers, while many Japanese members are employed in the publishing industry. NUGW represents branch unions at dozens of English language schools including Nova, GEOS, Berlitz, ECC and Interac.
Activities
The union engages in strikes, rallies and leafletings, filing injunctions and arguing cases at the Labour Commission and Tokyo District Court on issues such as the non-enrollment of employees into National Health Insurance (shakai hoken), illegal outsourcing of Assistant Language Teachers by public schools (gyomu itaku), and unfair dismissals due to one-year contracts.
Representatives of the National Union of General Workers Tokyo South have served as reporters to the United Nations rapporteur on the Committee to Eliminate Racial Discrimination; the General Union (Osaka) has official consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).
The foreign leaders and activists of the NUGW include Dennis Tesolat, Louis Carlet, Paul Dorey, John McNeill, Catherine Campbell and Bob Tench.
Recognition
The migrant worker union movement has gained recognition over the years as being on the leading edge of progressive change in Japan. As in most countries, migrant workers face the worst of circumstances since they may be easily deported back to their home countries. NUGW, Zentoitsu and the Kanagawa City Union have been recognized by the union movement and the Solidarity with Migrant Workers Japan as the standard bearers for worker rights in the manufacturing and service industries not just for migrant workers, but for workers in general in Japan.
Antagonists to the Union
With the private language teaching industry being dominated by corporate interests such as Nova Corporation, those working in the interests of management seek to discredit and slander the Union whenever possible. One case in point is an anonymous article in Metropolis Magazine against social insurance rights for migrant workers. By using an anonymous author for the article, no one is accountable to reporting accurate and truthful statements.
The private language school industry in Japan is unique in being the only industry in any country where foreign teachers are not granted their social insurance rights. This is because, private language schools, as all employers, must then pay half of costs for worker protection plans such as National Health Insurance.
Criticism
The union has been criticized by management interests for pursuing the fight for social insurance coverage for migrant workers in Japan - the shakai hoken issue. This consists of a single anonymous comment by a woman incognito in an pro-corporate publication Metropolis which is affiliated with Virgin Group - owned by controversial price-fixing CEO Richard Branson.