Demands were sent in late August and the issue was also raised in union-management discussions. However, ECC has refused to budge from their stance that “the IC Timecard is company property lent to the employee designed to last a long time, so the employee must take responsibility for it and return it when they cease employment”. The union simply does not agree to ECC’s stance for two reasons: Firstly, penalizing an employee for misfortune just doesn’t seem fair and theft has occurred at ECC, Secondly, it is a punitive measure. Some people have no problems with signing the “agreement”, however, in Japan punishing workers must follow certain protocol. Just as ECC is required to maintain records of working hours under the Labour Standards Law they must also include provisions for punitive measures (if they exist) in the company working regulations. A company may penalize workers, if and only if, there are rules clearly stipulated in the company working regulations. If a company penalizes a worker without the correct provisions in their working regulations it is a violation of the Labour Standards Law and the deduction must be refunded.