Negotiations, or collective bargaining, were held in Nagoya on August 6. Five Union members and officials from Osaka, Okayama & Nagoya represented the union. The company was represented by their lawyer and three senior employees. After the pleasantries of exchanging business cards things quickly got a little testy with the lawyer trying to dictate the order of business. Halfway through the 2 hour negotiations, the mood began to change, and by the end, was even pleasant.

The three major points of discussion were unemployment insurance enrollment for JTs, the legal responsibility for the company to make registered working rules available to peruse in the workplace, and confirmation of company policy for payment of hotels. In addition, we discussed the problem of teachers not being reimbursed for expenses when there are minor errors on receipts.

Issues with hotel payments, and issues with receipts, were put down to communication problems. And while we are awaiting an official written response we feel the areas with these problems will see them resolved shortly.

The company will respond with written answers to all the demands by August 17. In the meantime, contact us if would like information about how to join the union, or join our mailing list.