Of course the company has the right to appeal, but the General Union will accordingly escalate the dispute with Nichibei because of their refusal to admit their legal violations and negotiate with the union in good faith. On 7 June 2006, Nichibei Eigo Gakuin (President: Mr Tamotsu Kanehisa, Head Office: Kita-ku, Osaka,) was found guilty by Osaka Prefectural Labour Commission of violations of Trade Union Law, Article 7, Clause 2 (Refusal of Collective Bargaining) and Clause 3 (Control and Interference). The commission judged that Nichibei’s refusal to disclose their finances during the course of pay negotiations constituted negotiating in bad faith, and thus, in effect, a refusal to negotiate with the union. Furthermore, the company was found guilty of handing out leaflets to their students which slandered union members who were on strike. These leaflets were written by Vice-president Noriko Kuroda. Kuroda also slandered the union branch leaders to a new teacher whom they were trying to help, first ordering them out of the room, and then telling him, ‘Don’t worry about them. They’re always wandering around here. I don’t know what they do all day. As far as I know, they do nothing. If they say anything strange to you, or anything you can’t understand, come and tell me’. The case was filed on 24 December 2003, and is the third Unfair Labour Practices to be filed by the General Union against the company. The first two cases were filed to protect the union branch from Nichibei’s union-busting efforts. This is the order from the Labour Commission to Nichibei:

ORDER 1. The defendant must enter into Collective Bargaining in good faith regarding the plaintiff’s pay rise demands of 21 February 2003, 29 May 2003, and 6 October 2003, disclosing data regarding their financial condition, etc. 2. The defendant must submit a letter without delay to the plaintiff, as below: Date Mr Katsuji Yamahara Chairman, General Union Our company has not entered into Collective Bargaining in good faith regarding the pay rise demands and we have failed to disclose financial data, etc. We distributed leaflets to students called ‘Apology and Notice’ during your union members’ strikes in April and September 2003, containing slanderous expressions, and expressed comments in order to discourage non-union members from joining the union. The Osaka Prefectural Labour Relations Commission has confirmed these acts as Unfair Labour Practices, as defined in Article 7, Clauses 2 and 3 of the Trade Union Law. We will not repeat this kind of behaviour from now on. Tamotsu Kanehisa President Nichibei Eigo Gakuin