Hello everyone, I am a part-time lecturer at Tokai University.
I also serve as branch manager of the Tokai University, Shizuoka Campus Teachers' Union.
I have been working in this school for 18 years.
I teach Korean language and Korean cultural theory.
I want as many people as possible to know about the union.
I'm making this video on November 6, 2022.
The Tokai University teachers' Union
is a labor union open to both full-time and part-time employees,
formed in May of this year.
I think there are also many problems with the working conditions of full-time teachers,
but in this video, I would like to talk mainly from the standpoint of a part-time lecturer.
First, as for myself,
my contract was renewed 18 times for a one-year term.
I thought it would be the same for next year and beyond.
In April 2022, I received a message that said that
"From next year, it will be difficult to open the same classes "
and that "approval has not yet been granted."
I asked my colleague instructors and many of them received the same message.
Around the same time, I happened to see a leaflet from the union on the campus,
and found that this was also happening on the Shonan campus,
and that the Tokai University teachers' Union has been established.
At the beginning of April, with my fellow instructors we were thinking,
"What are we going to do next year?" I was in despair.
Knowing about the new Staff Union gave me hope.
Five months after that, I invited my fellow instructors
to join the union one after another,
and was able to create a group of instructors on the Shizuoka campus.
The people of the Yokohama district labor union, the upper organization of the union,
guided us and taught us about the rule of indefinite employment conversion,
through case studies at other universities.
The indefinite employment conversion rule is for those
who have renewed their contract at the same workplace
every year for more than 5 years.
They can do the same work under an indefinite employment form with no fixed term.
After 5 years, they have the right to indefinite employment without a fixed term.
And it is a mandatory law,
a right to be recognized immediately, from the time it is applied.
with the right to immediate recognition from the point of application
I applied immediately.
However, the university has answered that
in my case it was a "10-year exception",
not a "5 years exception". The "10-year exception" applies to researchers.
I was not eligible for the 10-year exception,
as this exception period starts counting from 2013,
and at this point, we can count only 9 years.
After April 2023, they won’t be able to prevent us from applying
for the 10-year indefinite employment exception.
That is why it seems that the university is trying
hard to kick us out this year.
Of course, this exception should not apply to us,
part-time teachers, engaged in education. We are not researchers.
However, no settlement could be reached in group negotiations.
Our claim will now move to court.
As of November 6, 2022, a plaintiff group was formed from the union.
We are about to start a 12-person class action lawsuit.
Hokkaido branch, Shonan branch, and Shizuoka branch were established.
At the union general meeting,
we were able to reach a unanimous vote to establish the right to strike.
Also, with the support of the media,
I was able to introduce the case of Tokai University at a national trade union meeting called Zenroren.
We were interviewed by the mass media who were there,
and our complaint became a newspaper article.
The conflict between employers and workers on the campus is now known
both inside and outside the university.
We also plan to join the local Shizuoka Prefecture Labor Union Council.
They helped us to build solid foundations for our union.
From April 2023, we will somehow try to continue to do
the same educational activities in the same workplace,
aiming for a solution within this school year,
and we have a strong desire to win a short-term decisive battle.
To that end, we will not hesitate to strike in class, which is a direct action.
Although this may seem like a drastic action,
we just want the university to understand.
The university side, which is trying to use the 10-year exception, will continue
to employ those who have worked a fewer number of years.
But one day, they will try to do the same thing to them.
If the university prevents this indefinite term employment to apply to us,
They will try to dismiss teachers this way from now on.
Teachers who will not be suspended from next year are not on pins and needles.
Even the situation of teachers who will not be suspended next year is not safe in the future.
In the history of labor, from ancient times,
poweful people used slaves to build large structures,
to show off their power.
At the dawn of the Industrial Revolution,
capitalists forced people to work in poor conditions, without breaks,
more than 11 hours in a row,
or children to work late at night.
People were injured or unfortunately lost their lives in the process.
There is a painful history of workers without a voice.
That is why the labor unions were born,
and it took a long time to organize and legalize them.
Today's workers' rights are the result of the hardships of our predecessors.
Yet, because there are employers, still trying
to slip through the cracks of the law,
labor union battles are necessary.
We have to say that the laws protecting workers are still incomplete.
Japanese labor unions have so far focused on regular employees,
doing little for non-regular workers.
But, for those who have been working for more than 5 years
there is a law granting them the right to continue working at the same place.
To reduce instability as much as possible,
This law was created after the hard work of our predecessors.
However, even after this revision of the law,
if evasive methods to find loopholes still prevails,
it will be a regression for humanity, not an evolution.
Finally, I would like to share my thoughts about working.
Please listen a little longer.
I think most people would agree that working is
not just for money.
That's right, working also is a way of connecting with society.
And I believe that the only explanation that can connect one’s past,
present and future, is one’s profession. what connects our own past, present and future is our profession .
I’m sure that part-time teachers have a large
number of original materials.
In the process of preparing for classes,
they have reflected their own knowledge
and have accumulated many teaching skills.
If you lose your job, your vast knowledge and skills will have no access to be used for the general social good.
Even if you lose your university income,
instead of saying, "I hope I can earn the same amount of income somewhere else",
I hope you can appeal to your current and future self
what you have done so far,
and keep your valuable identity as a part-time university lecturer.
Don't lose your job so easily.
It's not enough to teach as a volunteer
I believe that the only way to explain your continuity
to yourself is through your profession,
that properly reflects the value of your labor for your specialization.
I want to send this message to as many people as possible.
It has been only 5 months since April.
When we received the dismissal notice, the mood in the lecturer's office was dark and gloomy.
But now all the members have hope.
To full-time teachers,
Staff members are also encouraged to join the Tokai University Teachers' Union.
If we can bring together the problems that are occurring in different parts of the university,
we will be able to find a way to solve them.
Until now, there was no union at Tokai University.
But many universities and companies have labor unions.
Let's work together to improve the working environment, little by little.
How to join the union and how to apply for permanent employment
conversion will be posted in the summary section.
You can join the union even if you have already left your work.
And please share this video with everyone you know.
Spread the word and we'll try to convince them .
Thank you for watching to the end!