Job Discussion Forums

[Pitarou]

[rslrunner]

[Yokaides]

I've looked it up for you kids. The money you pay towards this 'union', would be better suited for an emergency fund in which you could save up for a good lawyer, a train/plane ticket, an oil change, dentures/braces, etc.

If your employer doesn't want you there, it's time to go, rather than pursue a relationship based on animosity. They'll find a reason to let you go anyhow. Just like many have said previously.

This is just my life experience, I don't want people to engage in risky behavior, and endanger their livelihoods. I know some people will say ''OLD MAN, we want change!'', but change is formed from positive vibes, and from 'the tone' of these GU postings, it will only prolong stagnation for workers in this field as they will all be lumped together and labeled troublemakers.

Let us not bring the confrontational aspect from our previous lives overseas to a country which is totally the opposite in interaction.

Yokaides

[mitsui]

Typical apologist rant.

Unions could be more effective if more people joined.
Instead people just think of ME instead of WE.

Japanese join unions. Don't be a lackey for corporate abuse of workers
in this country. This idea of harmony is just propoganda.

[taikibansei]

I haven't posted to this site in a long time--several years, actually. That said, I research and write about labor issues in Japan, not to mention regularly advise people on issues regarding labor law in this country. There's been a bit of misinformation in this thread.

1) Unless you choose to disclose it, neither your employer nor your colleagues will know about your union membership. (Silence on this matter is a sure and easy way to prevent one from being fired for union membership....)

2) Japanese people do sue their employers. A lot. At my university right now, there are three current lawsuits, including one where a "colleague" (term used lightly...as I've never seen the guy on campus) is suing for the right to receive salary without ever coming to work. The sad thing is, he just might win.... (See #3)

3) The labor laws here are, to a surprising extent, designed to protect the employee. Even as a foreigner/contract worker, you have a lot of legal protections/recourses available to you that are not available in your home country. Failing to utilize them when wronged is...silly.

4) Union membership is not for everyone. Given the painfully slow nature of litigation here, it can take years to resolve even minor issues in court. Accordingly, if you're not planning to be here mid- or long-term, membership is a waste of time and money. Finally, you are never guaranteed victory; while rare, courts here can and do ignore precedent and even law in their decisions, meaning that you should only choose litigation in extreme circumstances on issues critical to your livelihood.

5) That said, if you are planning to stay here (and particularly if you have family/roots), it is silly not to join a union. Time and again, people contact me privately to ask for help about their situations after the bad thing happened. This includes two so-called "permanent" (this was in writing) ALTs who were suddenly told this January that their services would no longer be needed as of April 1. This also includes an eikaiwa instructor who contacted me because her boss arbitrarily changed her work status from full- to part-time (halving her salary) because her son was hospitalized and she needed to take a few days off from work to be with him. If they are union members, it's an easy discussion as to what to do. If not--assuming they're not independently wealthy and proficient in Japanese--things become much more complicated. First, if you're not in a union, it costs a lot of money to litigate. (Note that most unions will only provide legal services to current members.) Good English-speaking lawyers--especially if you're living away from Tokyo--are also few and far between. Moreover, the smart employer will often stall, knowing the non-union employee (lacking both financial resources and know-how) will usually cave. Finally, as with the ALTs mentioned above, things can go bad so quickly here--will you (and your family) be able to handle this sudden change of circumstance alone? Will you have the presence of mind to know how and when to fight?

6) Last but not least...being in a union is often the best way to avoid court. While counter-intuitive, I've repeatedly found this to be true. Most employers don't want to deal with the bad publicity that almost invariably comes with a lawsuit. Hence, if challenged by a union, employers will normally choose to settle without going to trial. (Think about it from their point of view--why would employers want to waste time and money going against a deep-pocket union in a public spat? Particularly if they're in the wrong....)

Regarding unions, any of these would be fine:

http://www.ewaosaka.org/
http://generalunion.org/Joomla/
http://www.jtuc-rengo.or.jp/

Good luck, whatever you choose to do!

[rslrunner]

Thank you for the helpful information.

[TokyoLiz]

Today's Japan Times has a brief article about about conditions in hakken and eikaiwa jobs

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2015/10/07/issues/red-flags-exit-strategies-advice-english-teachers-japan/#.Vhbjo9TyqrU

"With the autumn school term well underway — and with the Japanese government pushing for more English-language learning ahead of the 2020 Olympic Games, meaning a higher demand for native teachers — it’s important for new instructors in Japan to know when they are being exploited, and, if so, how to improve their lot or extricate themselves from the situation as painlessly as possible."

A lot of young friends and career teachers abroad are asking me about teaching in Japan. The English industry is probably going to expand a bit in anticipation of Olympic related commerce.

Taikibansei's made good points above - prepare for eventualities by joining a union, and reading up on the labour laws.

Here's the Foreign Workers Handbook again -

http://www.hataraku.metro.tokyo.jp/sodan/siryo/H23_handbook_all.pdf

[Lamarr]

My advice to anyone coming over to work for eikaiwa or ALT dispatch, particularly if you're coming on your own, or don't know anyone or anything about your new company, would be:

1. Assume that everything your new employer tells you is a lie: check up on things for yourself, either through the Labor Standards Office, the Union, or websites like this - do NOT rely on your new employer, or the people working there. Just because they tell you this or that, or say they're going to do this, pay you that etc. does NOT mean that they will follow through on their word.

2. Make sure you've got enough money to get a ticket out of there as and when it goes belly-up

While plenty of people are OK and have a good time, the English teaching world in Japan can be a very nasty, brutal place in some cases. Read through this and other Japan websites for horror stories in that regard. Get as much advance intel as you can.

[TokyoLiz]

Lamarr's a bit melodramatic, but not wrong.

Always compare an offered job description or contract with the labour law. If employers can fudge labour rules, they will.

New arrivals need about $5000 to get started.

Also be prepared to leave your job if conditions suck or are different from the contract. I've mentioned here before that the employer that brought me in on my second sojourn misrepresented the job to me when I was hired in my home town, and failed to pay promised overtime. I quit after three months and had enough cash on me to survive a month between jobs.

[Lamarr]

Not melodramatic, just based on my experience, and other people's.

"Prepare for the worst, hope for the best". It's a good way of approaching things IMO. It's a hard, harsh world out there, and the better-prepared you are for dealing with it, the better off and happier you're going to be.

[Rooster.]