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Union Demands:
Shunto 2015 Demands
労働者性について On Worker Status
1) 会社は、労働条件を悪化することなく、全組合員の労働者性を認めること。
The company grant employee status to all the union members without degrading working conditions.
安定した雇用について On Job Security
2) 会社は、全組合員の安定した雇用を実現するため、労働条件を悪化させることなく、期間の定めのない雇用を認めること。
The company grant permanent employment without degrading working conditions in order to establish job security for union members.
事前協議について On Jizen Kyogi (Prior Consultation)
*3) 会社は、組合員の人事異動、懲戒処分、解雇（本人の意思に反するあらゆる契約終了を含む）を行う場合、事前に組合並びに支部に通知し、協議の上、同意を得て実施すること。
The company inform, negotiate with and obtain agreement from union and local before any transfers, disciplinary measures or dismissal of any union member; including all forms of severance against the wishes of the union member.
*4) 会社は、会社の全ての職場における営業時間を変更する場合、事前に組合並びに支部に通知し、協議の上、同意を得て実施すること。
The company inform, negotiate with and obtain agreement from union and local be-fore changing the operating hours at any of its workplaces．
便宜供与について On Bengi Kyoyo (Use of Facilities)
*5) 会社は、会社施設内での組合の相互連絡、ニュース・ビラの配布、会議室使用などの組合活動を許可すること。また、各ラーニングスタジオの休憩室と本社において、組合業務のための掲示板をーつ貸与すること。
The company permit the distribution of flyers, newsletters and other union correspondence on company premises as well as the use of company meeting rooms for union activities. Further, the company provide one bulletin board in the break room of each LS and one at headquarters for the use of the union.
*6) 会社は、イニシャル・サーティフィケーション及びベルト・アップ・サーティフィケーションという研修への組合代表者の立ち会いを許可し、同研修を受けている講師らに対し、労働組合に関する情報提供並びに質疑応答のための時間として１５分を確保すること。
The company permit union representatives to attend Initial Certification and Build Up Certification training to make a fifteen-minute presentation and answer questions about the union.
透明性について On Transparency
7) 会社は、組合員に適用される就業規則の日本語版と英語版両方を、組合並びに支部に交付すること。
The company provide union and local with Japanese language and English language versions of the work rules that apply to the union members.
8) 会社は、講師の働き方と振る舞いについて記録されている、各組合員の「My Schedule for Instructors」というファイルを組合並びに支部に交付すること。
The company provide union and local with a written copy of the complete contents of each union member’s My Schedule for Instructors file, including all comments written by Gaba staff pertaining to evaluation of performance and conduct.
働く環境について On Working Environment
9) 会社は、全組合員を社会保険に加入すること。
The company enroll all instructors in Shakai Hoken.
*10) 会社は、レッスンの前日の１８：００以降にレッスンをキャンセルされた場合、レッスン 料の全額を支払うこと。また、キャンセルの後、講師はキャンセルされたレッスンの時間帯に、新たに別の生徒にレッスンをした場合、会社は、新たに発生した レッスンの料金も支払うこと。
The company, if a lesson is canceled after 6:00pm the night before it is scheduled to be taught, provide the instructor full compensation for the lesson. If the instructor then teaches a different client during the same time slot, the company pay the instructor for both lessons.
11) 会社は、全組合員に対し、イニシャル・サーティフィケーション及びビルド・アップ・サーティフィケーションという研修時間にあたっての賃金を支払うこと。
The company will pay wages for trainings such as initial certification and build up certification.
12) 会社は、組合員が勤務時間に団体交渉に出席した場合、賃金から控除しないこと。
The company will not reduce wages for time spent in collective bargaining to union members.
13) 会社は、組合員に対し、交通費の実費を支払うこと。
The company will pay the actual transportation expenses of union members.
14) 会社は、労働協約の締結日から6ヶ月以内に、講師がオンラインで簡単にレッスン時間帯を「クローズ」することができるよう、マイ Gaba フォア・インストラクターズというホームページを修正すること。
The company, within six months of signing the agreement, adapt My Gaba For Instructors to enable instructors to close lessons online at any time.
*15) 会社は、全講師が在留資格の延長などを申し込む場合、ただちに必要な書類を交付すること。なお、申請書の中の会社に関する部分の情報を確認した上、適切なところに捺印すること。
The company immediately hand over the necessary documents when all instructors apply for visa renewal. Further, the company will confirm the information in the part of the application form about the company, and stamp it.
16) 会社は、上記の条項（第１項～第１５項）に基づいて、組合並びに支部と労働協約を締結すること。
The company conclude with the union and local a Labor-Management Agreement based on demands #1-15.
Joe Demands
*1) 貴社は、支部IT担当ジョセフ・クロフトに対する解雇を撤回すること。
Company reinstate local IT Director Joe Croft.
*2) 貴社は、支部IT担当ジョセフ・クロフトに対する解雇理由説明書を交付すること。
Company issue the reasons for IT Director Joe Croft’s dismissal in writing.
*3) 貴社は、平成２７年８月１８日に予定BUC2研修に、支部IT担当ジョセフ・クロフトの参加を認めること。
Company allow IT Director Joe Croft to attend the 8/18/2015 BUC2 training.
Tyler Demand
貴社は、支部財政部長タイラー・クリステンセンに対するFM Certification、LPA Certification、Debeltingという減給懲戒処分を撤回すること。
The company reverse it’s discipline against Tyler as concerns debelting, LPA Certification, and FM Certification.
Musashi Demands
1) 貴社は、平成２６年９月１４日予定になっていた件について、坂崎武蔵組合員に対する懲戒処分を撤回すること。
Company reverses its discipline against Musashi related to the cancellation of the 9/14/2014 lesson.
2) 貴社は、平成２６年９月１４日予定になっていた授業にあたって、金１６００円の未払い賃金を支払うこと。
Company pay 1600 yen in unpaid wages for the lesson cancelled on 9/14/2014
3) 貴社は、坂崎組合員に対しての不当な懲戒処分の件について、謝罪すること。
Company apologize to Musashi in writing for this unfair disciplinary action.
Christmas Party Demand
会社は、2015年11月30日午後5時を期限とし、2015年12月13日に行われるInternal Staff Eventという宴会に、講師や他の従業員のすべてを文面で正式に招待すること。
The Company invite all instructors and other Gaba employees to the 12/13/2015 christmas party by 5PM on November 30th.
* Demand that is part of the current dispute between the union and Gaba.
Gaba Corporation
株式会社GABA
Some Things You Might Not Know About Gaba
Gaba is in the middle of a corporate takeover.
Gaba is currently suing the Japanese government to stop it supporting instructors’ constitutional right to organize.
Gaba actively suppresses union information (on the Internet, via postcards, and in the form of leaflets) to keep you in the dark.
Every time an R-slot rebooks, the company gets paid twice while you only get paid once; it wasn’t always this way.
You have legal rights that you may not know that you have.
Take the first step towards improving your working conditions by contacting the union at info@tokyogeneralunion.org today.
Some More Things You Might Not Know About Gaba
The Good:
It’s the most flexible English teaching company in Japan: you can put in almost any schedule you want with as little as one month’s notice. So, for example, if you wanted to work every single day one month and then take a three-week holiday the next, you could do that. You just have to make sure you put some kind of schedule in by the 10th of the previous month. But even then, you can add classes to your schedule at any time; you just can’t cancel lessons if they’ve already been chosen by a student.
Every lesson is a private, and most people prefer them to group lessons.
You have almost complete academic freedom in your lessons; as long as the student agrees to your suggestion – and enjoys it enough to give you a decent evaluation – you could talk about anything (politics, history, religion, your hobby, etc.).
The Bad:
Every single lesson is anonymously evaluated by the student, and so you’re constantly under pressure and incentivized to please, as opposed to teach, the students. If you get a 1 or 2 out of 5, you’ll get a talking-to from your ISL (Instructor Support Leader) or ISM (Instructor Support Manager); there are a lot of manager-types whose usefulness is not really clear; they don’t have any real decision-making power and are akin to McDonald’s managers-in-name-only, who are scammed themselves by a company looking for an excuse not to pay overtime.
If you’re not a star teacher (one whom students compete to book), your schedule will have a lot of holes in it (which individually aren’t really long enough to do anything else or go anywhere in) and, as you’re paid per lesson, you’ll sit around not getting paid for being on call in case a lesson is booked by a student who just decided to come at the last minute.
When a student calls to cancel a lesson the day of, it gets called an “R slot.” If another student books that slot, the company will keep the lesson points of both the student who cancelled and the new student (effectively getting paid twice), while you’ll only get paid for one lesson (effectively getting robbed).
They don’t pay for transportation, unlike almost every other employer in Japan.
The “instructor voice” system, recently named “partner voice” in honor of Wal-Mart’s concept that minimum-wage folk are “associates,” is a scam: Ostensibly, it’s there for people to voice complaints or make suggestions about how to improve things at Gaba; messages sent through that internal system go to all the higher-ups at the company. The trick is that complaints sent through it have come back to be used against instructors when dealing with the company – as evidence of their trouble-making nature; the only real “voice” is a union.
Their “belting” system is a scam in which, it’s supposedly possible to be promoted from the lowest rank or “belt,” “A1” (¥1,500 per peak-time lesson) all the way through seven steps up to the highest pay grade, “D2” (¥2,200 per peak-time lesson). The problem is that it’s long since become a quota system in which it’s nigh on impossible to get promoted beyond the meager starting wage; you have to wait for someone above you to quit or get demoted because they get sick (absences aren’t allowed) or get a few too many negative evaluations.