Berlitz Union

Current News

October 4th, 2005
100% Salary Adjustment
In March this year Berlitz instructors received a memo from company President, Mr. T. Noda, announcing that Berlitz was unable to offer a pay raise for 2005. However, a possible bonus would be awarded instead.

The company has now decided to apply the pay raise and instructors will see a 100% salary adjustment for 2005 paid in the first quarter of 2006 and the possibility of a bonus for 2005 still remains.

July 14th, 2005
BEGUNTO Members Begin Strike Action
12 brave souls (the Dirty Dozen?) walked out tonight at various LC's across the Kanto area in support of union demands for a retraction of the pay freeze, and improvement of conditions for teachers on the new 40/40 contracts. Tamachi, Chiba, Nakano, Ikebukuro, Yurakucho, Shinjuku, and Yokohama teachers were on the strike list for Thursday, with more LC's scheduled to join in over the week to come.

Unconvinced by a management memo pleading with employees to "think very carefully before undertaking any activities or behavior that could have a negative impact on customer satisfaction", union members sent management a clear message saying that empty promises to be "as generous as possible" were not sufficient. Years of bargaining with Berlitz Japan have led us to believe that generosity is not reliable unless backed up with a signed labour-management agreement. Contract negotiations, as well, should take place BEFORE signing the contract, not after. Berlitz Japan, after arbitrarily introducing new contracts with reduced working conditions, claims to be negotiating in good faith with the union regarding the contents of those contracts. Oddly enough, this unique approach to bargaining does not appear in the Berlitz Negotiations text.

Thanks again to all who participated in the strike, and to those who are scheduled for next week.

June 24th, 2005
A Visit to Benesse
Union members were up bright and early on June 24 to pay a visit to Benesse HQ in Tama Centre, where the annual stockholders meeting, held in Okayama, was broadcast for the benefit of stockholders living in Tokyo. The first item on the agenda for the meeting was "What to do with the profits". The last item was a motion to create a motion to create more stock options for key executives, including executive officers of subsidiaries. (The list of current holders of options
includes President of Berlitz International, Toru Noda.)

Nothing on the agenda indicated the slightest concern for working conditions at Benesse subsidiaries. Determined to correct that oversight, union members handed out leaflets informing shareholders of the situation at subsidiary Berlitz Japan, where employees are being forced
to pay for the failure of an expansion plan which was the responsibility of management. (Mr. Fukutake's appearance on the Forbes 500 list of richest people in the world was a motivating factor in getting some members out so early in the morning to such a distant location.)

Between the leaflets, the posters, and the bright red NUGW flag, the stockholders got the message. Benesse employees, most of whom took the leaflet on their way to lunch, were also quite interested in hearing about the situation. Thanks also to members who couldn't make it but sent messages of support - we'll be out there again before our sunburns fade, as long as management refuses to retract the pay freeze.

At the official stock holder's meeting in Okayama a union representative asked the following Berlitz related questions:

1) Since the language operations increased sales and made a profit why isn't Berlitz paying its contractually obligated rises to teachers?
Answer: the performance has to be looked at as a whole & there isn't enough to give rises since 1.9% is not a good enough performance (Head of Lang Op Div)

2) Isn't Berlitz Japan in the red due to management expanding - against teachers and union advice - and then having to contract?
Answer: Well, we did market research which indicated expansion would be successful (Noda)

3) Why is Berlitz refusing to enroll teachers in the national pension scheme?
Answer: Berlitz is not refusing, just waiting for the ministry to sort itself out (Noda)

March 31st, 2005
Say NO! to Job Losses, Pay Cuts, and Pay Freezes
With Mr. Tanaka's departure as president from Berlitz Japan, Benesse (our parent company) have hired a new president, and the third president in as many years, Mr. Toru Noda. Mr. Noda is already acting as CEO for Berlitz International. One of Mr. Noda's first presidential duties was to announce a company wide pay freeze for all seniority and performance based employees. This was an expected announcement that further adds to restructuring activities that include:

Job cuts at the language centers and in H.Q.
Large pay cuts and marked increases in workload
Closures of non performing and newly constructed language centers
Consolidation of language centers into larger units

Mr. Noda joins Berlitz Japan with a simple goal to fundamentally restructure operations. Benesse's Annual Report 2004 highlights this restructuring process as one of the company's medium-term objectives. As the image below suggests, restructuring will remain an ongoing process that brings further decreases in working conditions.

Benesse's restructuring comments also taken from its Annual Report 2004 are as follows:

Employees at all levels in Berlitz Japan know full well that the opening sentence regarding Berlitz Japan's expansion must have been written in 2003 as the current ongoing language center closures do not constitute a favorable expansion.

A sincere message to all Berlitz Staff from Benesse

Berlitz employees - If there was ever a time to actively support your union, it is now.

March 1st, 2005
Big Brother is Watching
Video cameras installed in classrooms at Shin Aoyama Language Center are causing members of management some confusion as they attempt to define their usage to inquisitive instructors. The list of explanations management has provided so far are as follows;

They are for the purpose of monitoring teachers

They are for distance learning

They are for corporate clients to observe their employee's lessons

BEGUNTO representatives went to visit Shin Aoyama Language Center to investigate the camera system. Representatives confirmed that cameras were in all classrooms. The cameras had shaded lenses and were placed in the corners of the ceiling as opposed to the video camera style used for distance learning (sitting on top of a television in one room). Immediately after the visit at a union and company meeting, H.R. stated that the cameras were for corporate clients to observe employees and were 'surprised' that the Instructional Supervisor in Shin Aoyama was using them to monitor instructors.

The union's demand on this issue is simple. This system not be abused. Berlitz promised to provide an official response to this demand by next week.

UPDATE
Berlitz H.R. sticks with its first explanation that the cameras are for corporate clients to observe employees although the system is 'rarely' used and serves better as a sales tool. The supply and installation cost of the camera system was zero. This has been merited to a  'bonus' deal made during the construction of multiple new language centers.

February 26th, 2005
MG40/40 and MG45/45 'Pay Cut Contracts'
Berlitz Japan has introduced two new contracts (MG40/40 and MG45/45) that replace the existing MG35/40 contract (35 lesson units within an availability of 40 units). The new contracts 'officially' took effect from February 18th, 2005.

From now, new instructors joining Berlitz will be employed on an MG40/40 contract or existing MG20/20 and Pay Per Lesson contract. Instructors wishing to move into an Instructional Supervisor position may first be employed on an MG45/45 contract to see if they display the right qualities. Details of the new contracts can be found on the contracts page of this website.

The new MG40/40 contract boasts a range of bonus incentives to try to water down the actual 9.85% pay cut (more if you calculate additional MG35/40 holiday pay revision payments) based on what the new instructors would have earned as an MG35/40 contract instructor teaching 40 lesson units per week.

MG45/45 contract instructors will see a 12.8% pay cut (more if you calculate additional MG35/40 holiday pay revision payments) based on what they would have earned as an MG35/40 contract instructor teaching 45 lesson units per week.

A February 4th, 2005 notice posted to all instructors from Berlitz H.R. (Mr. Iwai) announced the contract changes as a way to 'simplify salary management'. A term bearing all the hallmarks of an extract from the 'new and improved' business range of Berlitz English Levels 5-8.

The introduction of MG40/40 and MG45/45 contracts are beneficial to Berlitz in a number of ways. Firstly, they pay less for more work and secondly, they will reduce the number of out of contract lessons available for 'expensive' existing MG35/40 and Pay Per Lesson instructors.

What Berlitz didn't consider is that these new contracts clearly require instructors to be automatically enrolled in 'Shakai Hoken' (Employees Health and Pension Insurance). The General Union - Berlitz Branch will discuss this issue and all aspects of the new contracts with Berlitz on Friday March 4, 2005.

December 14th, 2004
The Action Continues
The action continues on the case of the Berlitz instructor who was dismissed with two hours' notice from Tama Centre LC.

Four hundred leaflets were distributed by a crowd of 25 union members from Berlitz and Nova in front of Nihombashi LC, last Friday evening (December 10).
An additional three hundred were handed out by 3 Begunto members in front of Chofu LC on Tuesday at lunch time. Even the IS responsible for the dismissal stopped to take a copy as he walked by.

Public sympathy continues to be warm; passers-by were obviously shocked by the poster stating "fired with 2 hours' notice", and several people stopped to say "gambatte!" or even "kawai-so" ("oh, I feel sorry for you"). Union members, watch your email boxes for the date and time of the next demo.

December 9th, 2004
Tama Center Demo
Twelve union members were on hand to leaflet in front of Berlitz Tama Centre LC, in protest of the dismissal with 2 hours' warning of our member. The leaflets went like hotcakes, 200 disappearing in the first 25 minutes, and several passers-by stopped to say that they had read the Asahi Shimbun article about the problems facing foreign teachers in Japan. One woman even suggested that we should have a petition for people to sign. Public sympathy is high, thanks to the coverage in the Japanese language press, as well as the recent Japan Times article.

Protesters took a few minutes out to stroll over to Benesse HQ, where they handed out leaflets to employees entering the building.

December 9th, 2004
Job Security at Risk
A member who had been teaching at Berlitz Tama Centre LC for 2 years went in to work one day last week, and, while relaxing during a CTL at 7:00 in the evening, was handed a letter from his IS. The letter stated that his contract, which happened to be ending that day, would not be renewed. In effect, he was being dismissed on the spot, for alleged "unprofessional behavior".

This would be a pretty shabby way to dismiss someone even if they HAD been behaving unprofessionally, but the charges of unprofessionalism seem odd, given that the teacher in question has been the kids' Coordinator at the LC - just the job you want an unprofessional instructor to have - and was chosen to deliver a demonstration lesson to top Benesse executives at their headquarters near the Tama Centre LC, as well as appearing in a promotional magazine article for Berlitz.

Management, however, has decided to skip the process of even investigating the performance issue, claiming that they can renew or not at will. That has never been the practice at Berlitz, as everyone who has been here more than a year knows - contracts have been renewed automatically for years.

We cannot allow management to dismiss a member without a reason - this is contrary to labour law, which puts the onus on companies to retain employees whose contracts have been renewed at least once, and represents a threat to everyone's job security.

October 11th, 2004
The Incredible Shrinking Teachers' Room
"Creating a comfortable workspace is an important part of any business. ... Large attractive rooms furnished with comfortable chairs and personal belongings...encourage feelings of pleasure, ambition and a desire to be an effective member of the workforce."

Ahh, good old MAE! Before the text goes entirely by the wayside, however, it would be worthwhile considering the jarring contrast between the wisdom of the passage above, and the actual conditions in which Berltiz employees are expected to work.

Since Berlitz announced plans to renovate several large LC's, and to close floors in some locations, teachers have naturally been concerned about the size of the teachers' rooms in the new layouts. The union brought up the matter of the decreasing size of teachers' rooms in new LC's during this year's shunto negotiations, and management responded that, while nothing could be done about existing schools (the closet-sized teachers' room at Shimbashi, for example), they would make changes in the design for new LC's.

Unfortunately that promise does not appear to have been kept in at least one redesigned LC, where a staff of nine is now forced to make do with seating for three (four at most, if you pretend to be riding the Chuo line at rush hour). A recent peek into the school revealed three teachers sitting in the teachers room, three sitting in the hall, and two wandering. Quite a difference from the previous layout which had two teachers' rooms, measuring 315x320cm, and 280x475cm, while the current space is a mere 234x305 - smaller than either of the two previous rooms. How teachers are expected to prepare for lessons while wandering the halls is a mystery to which HQ has yet to provide an answer.

Again, the union sees this situation as a result of the misguided expansion plan, and has requested some evidence from HR to support the decision to downsize the old schools rather than simply closing the new ones.
Refusal to share that evidence demonstrates once again the lack of a sincere commitment to transparency on the part of Berlitz management.

September 7th, 2004
Health and Safety
For all of you out there who were jostled out of bed this morning by shock waves from the earthquake in Wakayama, I would like to remind you that Berlitz has, at long last, in response to union demands, come up with Health and Safety procedures to deal with emergency situations. Among the procedures outlined is training in how to escape from the building, and how to lead customers out. So far, only managers have been given this training. The union has asked HR whether or not all employees will have a chance to participate in some kind of disaster preparation practice, but have not received a clear response. For obvious reasons, we believe that such training is urgently needed; please join us in demanding that HR demonstrate their concern for our safety by providing PAID training to all employees.

July 14th, 2004
Call to Action!
WHERE: Shinjuku Nishi LC

WHY: To change the disrequest system, so that disrequests are only used for scheduling purposes, and do not have any effect on a Teacher's performance record; and to protest the actions of Shinjuku management who used a disrequest to harass a Teacher, while failing to investigate the Teacher's claim that the disrequest was a form of sexual harassment.

DISREQUESTS:
We are not suggesting that the Students have to take lessons with Teachers they don't like; disrequests could be recorded on the Student's record, and lessons scheduled accordingly. Rather, the union is concerned about the connection of disrequests with performance evaluation, and thus with pay and lesson distribution.
Consider these points: Protection against sexual harassment and discrimination?
Berlitz claims that any disrequests based on racial or sexual discrimination are not accepted, yet in reality local management can get away with ignoring the obviously discriminatory content of a remark such as "physiologically I cannot accept him", directed by a female customer toward a gay male teacher who would not respond to flirtatious advances. If Berlitz truly intends to stand by its own committment to non-discrimination, it must remove the disrequests item from any evaluation of teachers' perfomance.

What are disrequests based on?
As it stands now, disrequests based on comments such as "The teacher wasn't really into the lesson", "Her attitude wasn't good", or "I don't like his pronunciation" are counted, despite being vague or unrelated to teaching ability. In addition, comments such as "I felt pressured" can also count against a Teacher, although putting pressure on the students is an essential part of preparing students for "real life English", and has been encouraged in training. Thus, a teacher may actually be disrequested for attempting to teach, rather than entertaining, the Student. Management will say that of course we have to give the customer what they want; we say, fine, but don't make that a reflection on the Teacher's performance.

COST CUTTING:
What with paying for the expansion and all, IS's are under pressure to cut costs, and where better to start than with the higher paid Teachers? Of course it is good to have a reason for reducing a Teacher's lessons, and disrequests can do the trick.

POWER HARASSMENT:
Teachers who speak out, or criticize their supervisors, may find themselves on the receiving end of a disrequest. Disrequests can be used as a reason for discipline, and, on more than one occasion, it has become clear that the performance of those handing out the discipline was far worse than the alleged mistakes on the part of the teacher.

The union has seen too many cases of Teachers being bullied by management over groundless complaints from customers. Please come out and make sure Teachers get the respect we deserve. Details of times and dates will be sent via email.

July 12th, 2004
Summer Campaign
With the 'Summer Campaign' steaming ahead Berlitz instructors and management are hoping for an upturn in sales in a year that can only be described so far as an 'annus horribilus.' Benesse business banter prefers to examine the big picture and puts the sales slump down to 'a difficult business environment, particularly in its core operating field, the education market.' (taken from fiscal report ended March 31, 2004)

Benesse's language companies saw a 16.1% decline in the last fiscal year ending March 31, 2004. The fall was chiefly related to lower sales at Berlitz. Sluggish sales into the new fiscal year alongside high operating costs due to Berlitz's over hiring in the last fiscal year have sent rumors of language center closures rippling throughout the company. Benesse will only allow Berlitz language centers to operate at a loss for so long before pulling the plug. This is a testing time for instructors and management alike.

The Benesse - Berlitz relationship is undoubtedly strained as Berlitz management continually fail to put the company back on track. The growing presence of Benesse management joining the ranks of Berlitz staff will allow Benesse to keep a much closer eye on the Berlitz decision making process.

Current sales figures are seeing something of an improvement due to a number of contract gains in the university sector after the April 'deregulation' allowed conversation schools to enter this lucrative market. Berlitz will hope that a good summer campaign, a renewal and expansion of university contracts, GTEC sign ups and the winning back of customers lost to NOVA will set the company up for the fall and winter seasonal slump.