High court says JNR was unfair to anti-privatization union members

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TOKYO, Mar. 25, 2009 (Kyodo News International) -- The Tokyo High Court acknowledged Wednesday that the now-defunct Japanese National Railways discriminated against employees belonging to a labor union that had opposed JNR's privatization in recruitment for privatized Japan Railway companies, a similar ruling to that given by a lower court.

Presiding Judge Toshifumi Minami ordered the Japan Railway Construction, Transport and Technology Agency, which has taken over parts of JNR's operations, to pay a total of 1.5 billion yen in damages for the majority of some 300 plaintiffs, who are members of the National Railway Workers Union (Kokuro) or their relatives.



But the court rejected the plaintiffs' request to confirm that they are employed by the agency, saying the plaintiffs ''would not necessarily have been recruited by JR, even if there had been no unfair labor practices (by JNR).''

It is the first time that a high court in Japan has given a ruling in such a lawsuit. Both the plaintiffs and the agency plan to appeal the ruling.

On the unfair labor practices, Minami said that ''whether to leave Kokuro or not served as a crucial factor'' in recruitment and that JNR ''detested Kokuro and had the intention of weakening'' the organization.

The Tokyo District Court ruling in 2005 also recognized the discrimination against the union and ordered a total of 1.41 billion yen in damages, while saying that ''there were reasonable causes for dismissal.''

The plaintiffs were among 1,047 people who were working at JNR, but were not recruited when the company was privatized in 1987.

JNR Settlement Corp. temporarily took them on and gave them three years to look for alternative jobs, but terminated their employment after the transition period expired.

The settlement corporation was dissolved in 1998 and parts of its work were inherited by the Japan Railway Construction, Transport and Technology Agency, which was established in 2003.


(Source: iStockAnalyst )