Whether you work for an Eikawa, an international school, at a university or any other kind of language school, you may have been asked to sign a NDA (Non Disclosure Agreement), often at the same time as you’re asked to sign your employment contract.
A NDA often states that you commit not to disclose any confidential or personal information about your workplace, other employees, or students, and failure to comply may result in legal action. So does it mean that if you signed a NDA you can’t join a Union, as obviously you’d need to share information about your employment?
No, it doesn’t. You’re perfectly free to join a union. In fact it’s a right guaranteed by the Constitution and Trade Union Law.
Let’s assume, with a bit of naivety, that the only purpose of an NDA is to protect the workplace, its employees, the students, and to prevent any confidential information regarding curriculum or teaching methods from being disclosed; it still could not forbid you from joining the General Union as this would be illegal.
As long as you don’t intend to write a blog or create SNS content about your workplace that reveals personal information about your students or the school, you’ll be in compliance.
And if you have any doubts or questions, feel free to check the General Union website or request a consultation.