This union news bulletin aims to make the communication among the Osaka University Teacher’s Union in the Minoh Area and all the teachers active.
■ □ Union News No.22 the year 2010 ■ □ ■ □ December 3, 2010 ■
【 １ 】The Second Set of Demands
＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊
【 １ 】The Second Set of Demands
December 2, 2010
To: Mr. Kiyokazu Washida, President of Osaka University
From: Keiko Takemura, Executive Committee Chairperson of Osaka University
Teacher’s Union in Minoh Area
We propose collective bargaining on the following 4 subjects
1. Osaka University must guarantee to pay full retirement benefits to all
the former teachers of Osaka University of Foreign Studies (OUFS) when they
reach the retirement age of 65.
The teachers of the former OUFS had been working under working
regulations which stipulate that the retirement age is 65. This must be
guaranteed comprehensively even after the integration of OUFS and Osaka
University. Also, the retirement benefits of OUFS’s teachers were already
guaranteed by the government at the time of privatization of state
universities. Therefore, Osaka University has a duty to pay full retirement
benefits to teachers of the former OUFS when they work until the age of 65.
Nevertheless, Osaka University has refused to do their duty and pay
retirement benefits as described above. The teachers, therefore, demand
that proper payment begin immediately, including retroactive payment for
those already retired without payment. For any case in which proper
retirement payments have not been made, we demand a complete explanation
in writing.
We demand that Osaka University respect our rights and guarantee them
after the integration. We demand that Osaka University pay the retirement
benefits that we are originally supposed to receive. Unless Osaka
University fulfills its duty correctly, we will bring this case to court.
2. Osaka University must pay the special-appointment foreign professors
the expense of their returning home.
The foreign professors of the 24 major languages other than Japanese
in the faculty of foreign studies who had been working as “guest”
professors at OUFS have been necessary for the foreign language education
at OUFS. Although OUFS has become a part of Osaka University and as a
result their status has changed from “guest professors” to
special-appointment professors, their roll in maintaining and developing
high quality language education in the faculty of foreign studies has not
changed at all. Osaka University is definitely obliged to pay the expense
of their returning home as well as the expense of their coming to Japan
in the future. If it does not, it must fund permanent positions for them.
Otherwise, the system of employing excellent foreign professors from
abroad cannot function, and foreign language education in the School of
Foreign Studies will suffer immeasurably and unacceptably.
The foreign professors who came to OUFS with the understanding that
their return home would be paid by the university are justifiably angry
at Osaka University’s reluctance to pay for their repatriation. Some of
them are saying, with anger, “Do we have to be the refugees!?”
The professors of this union agree that Osaka University has a duty to
pay for the return home of these visiting professors and that refusal to
pay is not only dishonorable but also a violation of the good faith
agreement made between the visiting professors and the university when
the professors agreed to come to OUFS. In merging with OUFS, Osaka
University must assume the obligations and responsibilities of the
former OUFS, including the promise to pay for guest professors’ return
home.
In fact, the foreign professors now have to suddenly start saving their
wages for the purpose of returning home. For many professors, such as
those who will return to South America or Africa, saving enough to bring
their family and all their possessions home results in a substantial
reduction in their standard of living and is a real hardship and harm to
them. Their wages were originally set with the intention supplying the
amount of money needed for them to live properly in Japan. Osaka
University has a duty to pay both their wages and the expense of their
returning home.
3. Osaka University must pay clerical assistants’ transportation
expenses in addition to their normal wages.
As in demand 2, above, the wage and the transportation expenses should
be handled separately. Osaka University argues that the transportation
expenses are already included in the wage. However, the wage is subject
to taxation. Claiming that transportation is included in the wage already
ignores the reality of the matter in the real world. Osaka University has
a duty to deal with them separately.
4. Osaka University must make the parking area free of charge.
For example, when people come to see the doctors at Osaka University
Hospital, they can park for free if they show the patient’s registration
card. On the other hand, when the teachers who are permitted to come to
work by car and are paid the transportation expenses come to work at
Osaka University by car, they are required to pay for parking. They are
not coming to Osaka University for their own convenience. They are coming
to work at the invitation of the university. It is incomprehensible and
absurd to require employees to pay to park at their place of employment.
If Osaka University cannot supply a rational explanation for its current
practice, it must change it and make parking free of charge.
＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊
＊This union news bulletin aims to make the communication among the Osaka
University Teacher’s Union in the Minoh Area and all the teachers active.
＊If you do not want to receive this news, or if you changed your E-mail
address, please just notice us
＊Please send any opinion and/or question for the Osaka University
Teacher’s Union in Minoh Area to mailto:union-oum@union-oufs.jp
＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊