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Chomsky Tells Tozen that Systems of Power Don’t Say Thank Youノーム・チョムスキーから東ゼンへ：「権力者は、反対する者にはお礼を言わない」
) Tozen Activists Chat with Activist Noam Chomsky ノーム・チョムスキーは来日中、東ゼン労組の活動家と話し合いを Leaders and members of Zenkoku Ippan Tokyo General Union (“Tozen Union”) met Saturday afternoon (March 8, 2014) with Professor Noam Chomsky at Café Lavandería in Shinjuku, Tokyo, at an event hosted by Tokyo Spring. ２０１４年３月８日、東京スプリングと東ゼン労組によって新宿２丁目のカフェラバンデリアで開催されたイベントに来た。東ゼン労組の活動家が世界的に有名な言語学者又は反体制派のノーム・チョムスキーと話し合うことができた。 The activist and linguist expressed great interest in the activities of both Tozen…
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Tozen Gaba Workers Union in Dispute with Gaba 全国一般東京ゼネラルユニオンGABA労働組合はGABAに対して労働紛争
The Tozen GABA Workers Union is officially in dispute with the company over it’s unfair disciplinary action (不当懲戒処分) against Local Executive President Tyler Christensen. We are fighting for the right to work unpaid overtime. Say what? Yes, we are fighting for the right to work unpaid overtime without facing discipline from the company.
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US State Department Lauds Tozen for Pension Activism
“A Pension Agency enforcement directive continues to make it explicitly easier for employers to avoid paying pension and insurance contributions on behalf of their foreign employees who teach languages as compared with Japanese employees in similar positions. It also does not establish penalties for employers who illegally fail to enroll foreign teachers in the system.…
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NCC organizing a labor union
株式会社エヌ・シイ・シイ ＮＣＣ綜合英語学院 学院長秘書室 〒160-0023 東京都新宿区西新宿7丁目15-4 YS第一ビル 受付4階 東京新宿本部 • Temporary employment contracts • Poor communication from management • No pay raises given to teachers regardless of length of service or qualifications. • Limited office space for foreign work staff • Lack of transparency • No procedures to deal with extreme weather If you have issues with…
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ANA caricature speaks volumes about Japan’s outdated mind-set
By Hifumi Okunuki Last month, a new ANA commercial hit the airwaves — and quickly ran into some serious turbulence. The scene is Haneda Airport. Two Japanese men dressed as pilots stand with their backs to the camera. “Haneda has more international flights nowadays,” says one. “Finally,” replies the other. “Next stop, Vancouver,” the first man says.…
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Tozen VS ICC
Tokyo General Union (Tozen) protests the firing of member Sulejman Brkic in front of the language school ICC. He worked there for 22 years and was fired for asking for his legally allotted paid holidays. Trailer: Full Version:
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Teachers tread water in eikaiwa limbo
BY CRAIG CURRIE-ROBSON Jan 22nd, 2014 Every year, thousands of young native English-speakers fly to Asia in search of an adventure, financed by working as English teachers. They come from Australia, New Zealand, the U.S., Britain, Canada and elsewhere. But it can be risky leaping into another country on the promise of an “easy” job. In…
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Restore the shuttered-up New Year’s of yore
BY HIFUMI OKUNUKI First of all, I would like to wish a happy new year to all the readers of Labor Pains. While labor news has generally been a gloomy topic of late, it is my hope that this year will bring brighter things for me to write about. As I draft this first column…
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The year in labor: the Top 5 pains of 2013
By Hifumi Okunuki Illustrations by Time O’Bree Japan’s old calendar called December shiwasu (師走). These two kanji mean “teacher” and “run.” The idea was that the last month of the year is so busy that even a staid, starch-shirted professor finds him or herself scurrying around like a rabbit, trying to get everything done on time. As…
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Tozen Gaba Local President Tyler Christensen Under Fire
Tozen Gaba Local President Tyler Christensen has recently been disciplined with a warning letter by Gaba for staying at the office too late. Tyler is a model Gaba instructor. He is hard at work every day providing excellent lessons, even putting in unpaid overtime to keep his clients happy and the company well informed of…