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Berlitz Union Newsletter can be viewed in pdf format.
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As of March 2004, Berlitz Union news is incorporated into the National Union Voice, displayed on this news page and also on the BEGUNTO NUGW blog site.

May 2002 - June 2004

June 14, 2004
BEGUNTO set up BLOG
The Tokyo based Berlitz General Union have set up a 'BLOG' or online diary as another source of keeping members up to date on Berlitz related issues and articles. The continued leafleting at Tokyo based Language Centers is just one of the articles being discussed. Access to the BLOG is through this website. http://begunto.tripod.com/begunto/

May 24, 2004
Members Leaflet Aoyama Language Center
In response to management's failure to follow the company/union grievance procedure over the unfair dismissal of a union member, the Berlitz Union distributed leaflets outside Aoyama Language Center in an afternoon show of solidarity.

February 11, 2004
Berlitz Newsletter - Discrimination at Berlitz
In 1995, the Japanese Government ratified the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), which is one of the major human rights treaties adopted by the UN and the first to have established a monitoring mechanism in the form of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD.) This body monitors the implementation of the provisions of ICERD by states party to it. How does this monitoring mechanism function and in what role can our union support it?

When the Japanese Government ratified ICERD, it assumed the obligation to submit state reports periodically to CERD on the measures it has taken to implement the convention. CERD assists the Japanese Government to implement their obligations by making suggestions and general recommendations based upon examination of the state reports. Such recommendations are not legally binding and progress is therefore dialogue-based. However, the Japanese government is eager to be granted a permanent seat on the UN Security Council and will hurt their bid if they are unable to follow through on their responsibilities.

NGOs just like our union are invited to enter into this dialogue by submitting their own reports to CERD. They can provide extra information or information which conflicts with the state report.

The General Union in co-ordination with its National Union of General Workers' (NUGW) sister unions, the Fukuoka General Union and the NUGW – Tokyo South is applying for consultative status with the United Nation's Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC.) This will enable our unions to submit reports to CERD and a variety of other UN monitoring bodies.

The General Union's bid for consultative status is moving into the third stage of the application process that will formally begin in June 2004. At this time, ECOSOC's NGO section will review the General Union's application before submitting it to the NGO committee who will decide if our organization meets with its requirements for consultative status. If the General Union meets these requirements then ECOSOC's council will be informed of the committee's recommendation and consultative status will be granted. In the event that the General Union is not granted consultative status we will still submit our reports using existing Japanese NGOs that have already been granted consultative status. Either way we will use this influential process to further protect our members' working rights.

As part of the report process, the NUGW has compiled a questionnaire to compare and monitor conditions of Japanese and foreign national workers. Although the Berlitz Union is well aware of discriminatory working practices in Berlitz as a whole, we would still like Berlitz teachers to complete this questionnaire. Each language center establishes its own set of rules that may also be discriminatory. The questionnaire can be found at this link;

http://www.generalunion.org/worker

Discriminatory Practices at Berlitz
Berlitz likes teachers to believe that it has an equal opportunity commitment and has even added the following to the Berlitz Work Rules.

Equal Opportunity Commitment
Berlitz Japan is committed to equal opportunity for all individuals without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, handicap, sexual orientation, or marital status.
To implement our commitment, Berlitz Japan will continue to:

Ensure that all personnel actions, including compensation, promotions, benefits, transfers and company sponsored training are administered without regard to the discriminatory factors cited above.

The following working practice is but one example of non-commitment.
Social Welfare Policies
Instead of enrolling foreign nationals into the national welfare scheme as is the norm for Japanese nationals, Berlitz provides an inferior holiday insurance scheme that is far from comprehensive or universal and can put teachers in a devastating situation should they become seriously ill. This free benefit also allows Berlitz to avoid paying a lot of money in welfare premiums that ultimately sees long term teachers (we have many) losing the benefit of a decent workers' pension upon reaching retirement. Japanese nationals at Berlitz automatically enroll into the national welfare scheme but foreign nationals have to negotiate for this fundamental and basic right. HR's stance is that it will make allowances for foreign nationals to enroll if there is a Japanese national in their family. Teachers have the right to choose a level of welfare protection that suits their family's needs. Make it clear Berlitz!

This discriminatory working practice will be submitted to the UN body, CERD.

Berlitz Newsletter - Too Little Too Late - Theft at the L.C.
On December 18, 2003, Berlitz HR issued a memo outlining the need for better security after some incidents took place at Berlitz LCs. One of these LCs where an incident took place was Berlitz in Umeda, Osaka. This LC witnessed a number of thefts of teachers' belongings before and after this posting was issued.

The Berlitz LC in Umeda hosts a large language center with two points of entry. One of these points is located beside the reception area allowing staff to monitor the flow of people entering and leaving. The other point is hidden from view and unmonitored while teachers are in lessons. This access point serves as a convenient short cut to the teachers' room, coffee machine, ladies' toilets, and smoking area. It is at this vulnerable point that access appears to have been gained by a thief to make off with a number of teachers' items.

To provide extra security for teachers' belongings, Berlitz installed a new set of lockers giving all teachers a secure place to store personal items. Teachers will no longer have to move up the pecking order before they benefit from a most basic form of work place security. The glass doors at this unmonitored point have also been covered with a frosted adhesive vinyl screen and a security camera sign has been placed beside the door handle. As a security camera is nowhere to be seen this will have the same deterrent effect as a guard dog sign at a house with an invisible dog that doesn't bark or bite.

In 2002, the Berlitz Union requested lockers for our members. In January 2003, Berlitz replied "Lockers at each LC are limited. These are assigned on a first-come, first serve basis."

Better sorry than safe at Berlitz

Berlitz Newsletter - Don't Get Sick in Nagoya
Nagoya based language centers have a novel way of making sure instructors never call in sick. It's simple really! If a per lesson instructor calls in sick then they can expect to receive an empty schedule on their next working day(s) after recovering. How about contract teachers? How can the instructional supervisor punish a contract teacher with a minimum guarantee? Just as simple. Stop giving out of contract lessons, change working schedules, and send instructors on a journey to a distant language center that sees some of them return home just before midnight. Sound familiar? This is just one of many unfair labor practices committed at Berlitz day in day out. HR is so used to receiving instructor complaints that they just shrug it off with a 'we know we have communication problems with our middle management'. Until Berlitz really addresses its operational problems and introduces a closely monitored hierarchial management system things will remain the same. ISs will continue to make unchecked rash decisions based on emotional outbursts and tantrums rather than good management practice. More in the next edition.

January 17, 2004
Pay Period Over
With the pay period over the results are in. The per lesson instructor had a final flurry on the final Saturday and picked up another 2 lessons. 67 units after providing 354 hours availability. That's still 367 yen per hour. The total didn't reach .5 on the remainder so we can't round it up.

January 16, 2004
Per Lesson Problems Prevail
A per lesson instructor teaching English and another language has a very high availability (354 hours from December 18th 2003 - January 17th 2004) but has only been given 65 units (travel and teaching) so far this pay period. With 1 day remaining this instructor is in dire straights. Their salary of approximately 130,000 yen calculates to 367 yen per hour based on their negotiated schedule of availability. Berlitz wouldn't even let the instructor reach 78 units to qualify for the holiday bonus. Berlitz, you do us proud.

January 9, 2004
Nagoya Language Center Instructors must not get sick!
Nagoya based language centers have a novel way of making sure you never call in sick. It's simple really! If a per lesson instructor calls in sick then they can expect to receive no lessons on their next working day(s) after recovering. How about contract teachers? How can the Instructional Supervisor punish a contract teacher with a minimum guarantee? Just as simple. Stop giving out of contract lessons, change working schedules, and send instructors on a journey to a distant language center that sees some of them return home just before midnight.
Looks like you won't be winning any bonus awards this year in Nagoya. With such morale sapping working practices who can be surprised.

The Berlitz Union asks Nagoya based instructors to continue to keep us informed of unfair working practices.

December 5, 2003
Contract Capers
At a recent round of Collective Bargaining with Berlitz H.R., the General Union Berlitz Branch made one simple request;
Provide instructors with clear contracts as per Japanese labor law.

You'd think that a company with a reputation to maintain and a long history behind it wouldn't have to be asked to implement such a simple working practice but you'd be surprised. Berlitz's official response to the union's request was this:

Due to the nature of our business in this regard we find that it is difficult, at the moment, to offer contracts with fixed schedules. The Company however recognizes the concerns of our PL instructors and that this is therefore an issue that needs to be addressed. Although at this point we are unable to offer a fixed guarantee, we would like to:

Continue our best efforts to ensure that teachers receive enough lessons.
Continue organizing events to try to increase students.
Introduce a campaign that focuses on re-enrollment.
Human Resources will communicate more with its Language Centers to prevent overstaffing.
Human Resources will also look at the possibility of introducing new Full-time and Part-time contracts with fixed schedules.

The General Union Berlitz Branch has, as the saying goes 'heard it all before' and would have preferred a simple 'NO' to this collection of regurgitated excuses. The General Union has been very patient with Berlitz on this matter and can only be patient for so long. Members are struggling to make ends meet simply because Berlitz does not want to do what all of the other major chain schools have done and provide a clear working contract. Our request to Berlitz is one of the most fundamental labor agreements made between an employer and employee. It is regarded as important enough that it is governed by both the Labor Standards and Part-time Workers' Law.

If you are asked if Berlitz is a good company to work for then you may want to consider the following questions.

Can you join a company that offers the possibility of some lessons at some time but with no guarantees?

Can you provide an availability of over 80 hours per week?

Can you work without a set working schedule?

Can you call your school every evening to check if you have work on the following day?

Berlitz Japan is the real diamond of Berlitz International and even more so for our parent company the Benesse Corporation who are funding the recent expansion of Berlitz's new Language Centers.

Lost Lessons Recently?
I think everyone can answer a resounding yes to this question. Not only have out of contract lessons dropped, but MG contracts cannot be filled. Think of how this affects Pay Per Lesson Instructors.

What is Berlitz doing to correct things?

The 24 Hour Rule: Berlitz introduced the 24 hour rule when overstaffing was just beginning to bite. Closing off schedules opened up lessons to ensure that MG contracts could possibly be filled. Berlitz claim that this rule protects the welfare of its staff (although not the Other Language Department).

Campaigns: Berlitz has run a series of campaigns in rapid succession that are having some impact to fill contracts but do little to provide lessons for Per Lesson Instructors or out of contract lessons for MG contracts.

Overstaffing: If Berlitz had followed Labor Law and employed staff on clear contracts prior to the kyufukin surplus, then Instructors wouldn't be blaming the company/union/each other that there are too many employees, not enough lessons, or that Berlitz has forced them to close off their schedule of availability. Other language schools were able to foresee the kyufukin rush and planned their staffing levels to meet demands. These companies knew that it would end almost as quickly as it began and provided existing Instructors with overtime while minimizing the number of new hires. The President of Berlitz Japan had informed H.R. that over hiring would cause the conditions we currently find ourselves in. Did H.R. listen? It looks like Benesse will be called in to meet with the union in place of H.R.

10th Anniversary - General Union Berlitz Branch
The General Union is delighted to announce the 10^th Anniversary of the formation of the General Union Berlitz Branch. In December 1993, General Union members working at Berlitz joined together to found a Berlitz Branch. The formation was due to rapidly deteriorating working conditions at Berlitz Language Centers.

Berlitz's response to the Berlitz Branch's first demand for Collective Bargaining was to refuse and request a list of the names of all union members. The General Union does not supply member lists but informed Berlitz that they could contact the Berlitz Branch Chair who would act as the window person for its members.

The first session of Collective Bargaining was held early in the New Year of 1994.

Things have moved on a lot since those early days and the Berlitz Branch/Berlitz history shows why forming a branch union is beneficial for members located within one company. The Berlitz Branch has successfully negotiated among other things; reversal of firings, paid vacation, payment of unpaid wages, contract agreements, and individual settlements. The Berlitz Branch is now pushing for clear contracts for members who are giving in excess of 80 hours per week availability but without a guaranteed income.

October 4, 2003
Struggling to pay the bills and stock the cupboards.

ゼネラルユニオン・ベルリッツ支部

General Union - Berlitz Branch

Berlitz Pay Per Lesson Branch Members who find they are struggling to provide themselves and their families with basic provisions before the next pay period should contact their union representative immediately.
Strictest confidentiality assured.

The drop in lessons at Berlitz language centers in Kansai and Kyushu continues into its second month. The severity of the seasonal drop is compounded because of a mass Berlitz recruiting drive that occurred when the government made changes to the kyufukin course in May 2003. (kyufukin is a government subsidy given to students wishing to increase their job skills) At the beginning of May 2003, kyufukin was 'downgraded' to a less attractive package resulting in a surge of new April signups wishing to take advantage of the generous government subsidies before they became less generous. To cover the sudden increase in student signups Berlitz hired like there was no tomorrow!

Berlitz was truly in awe at the unprecedented boom in April student signups and went so far as to issue a company wide memo thanking Staff for their hard work. The General Union contacted Berlitz to express concern that the latter part of the year would see a significant seasonal drop due to the completion of these kyufukin courses but Berlitz assured us that this would not be the case.

Within a short period of time the large number of April kyufukin signup students completed their courses and Berlitz was unable to replace them due to the sluggish summer intensive and anniversary campaigns that followed.

So where does this leave Berlitz now?
With a surplus of Instructors sharing an ever diminishing number of lessons this leaves Berlitz in a very difficult position. Minimum Guarantee Instructors are not having their schedules filled and out of contract lessons are slim. With little left over, Pay Per Lesson Instructors have the insecurity of a contract that offers the possibility of something which at present means very little to nothing. While Instructors on Minimum Guarantee 35/40 Contracts receive a minimum income of 250,000 yen per month regardless of whether their schedule can be filled, Pay Per Lesson Contract Instructors do not. Pay Per Lesson Contract Instructors remain fully available and committed to Berlitz but they are really feeling the strain. Pay Per Lesson Instructors with families and financial commitments are finding themselves digging into savings or having to borrow to cover basic expenditure. With a lack of lessons, income has dropped significantly and schedules are showing gaps of days rather than hours. When a teacher questioned the lack of lessons they were told to "find yourself another job."

Why aren't Per Lesson Instructors switching to Minimum Guarantee Contracts?
Simple! Berlitz won't allow the majority of them to do so. Berlitz is very selective who it gives Minimum Guarantee Contracts to because of the additional costs it will incur during these quiet periods. Taking care of the welfare of employees is just not profitable!

The General Union - Berlitz Branch will be meeting Berlitz H.R. on October 17th at Hommachi Regional Office to push this critical issue. Let's hope Berlitz is taking this issue as seriously as the General Union is. We shall see.

We have been fighting for 10 years to protect and improve working conditions in the company. Join us and get involved!

http://www.generalunion.org e-mail:berlitz@generalunion.org

ゼネラルユニオン・ベルリッツ支部

October 2, 2003
Simul Academy
Simul Academy and Berlitz are subsidiaries of the Benesse Corporation.
The Simul Academy International Teachers' Union (SAITU) won a major victory in a lightning industrial action in August.

On Wednesday, August 27, SAITU members voted to refuse all overtime work until the Union's demands were met. On Friday, August 29 the management of Simul International conceded to the Union's demands. The Union members determined to launch the action when, in a surprise announcement, management inserted new provisions to Union members' contracts coming up for renewal at the end of September. Management proposed axing two weeks of teachers' vacation and putting teachers on a 'merit pay' system. When teachers cancelled Sunday overtime interviews for new students, management quickly threw in the towel. Management withdrew the contract changes and agreed in writing not to make future changes in teacher contracts. One of the keys to the success of the boycott was that all the teachers at Simul participated, Union and non-union alike.

Anthony Dolan
President SAITU

Gearing-up for Consultative Status
In the last issue of the NUGW Voice, readers were presented with an article outlining the need for NGO's in Japan to apply for UN consultative status. For the NUGW, such status would allow our sister unions to submit reports to the UN's monitoring division to further push for improvements in the lives of foreign nationals living and working in Japan. As part of this process, we are conducting some nationwide research into the employment conditions of foreigners in Japanese universities and conversation schools for the academic year 2003-4, prior to the so-called 'privatisation' of public universities from next year. We would like to monitor and compare changes in employment conditions and to this end; we would like to invite you to fill in our online questionnaire, which can be accessed from the following links:

http://www.generalunion.org

http://fukuoka.generalunion.org

The questionnaire is based upon typical employment structures currently in place at public universities and conversation schools but is flexible enough to be filled in by employees at any type of learning establishment. Please make it your own. We would like to ask you to collect as much accurate information as possible from your employer and submit the completed questionnaire to us by 31^st March 2004.

Please be assured that we would treat any information you provide in the strictest confidence and we would be happy to provide you with a summary of the results.

September 7, 2003
G.U. Berlitz Branch Meeting
Berlitz Branch members and non-members met at the union office in Temmabashi to discuss a number of workplace issues. Floating contracts requiring an open schedule of over 80 hours per week and no minimum guarantees were among the issues raised. The Berlitz Branch will demand Collective Bargaining to resolve some of these issues.

August 28, 2003
24 Hour Rule
Have you signed up for weekend lessons?
If so, check your schedule for 'Temporary Block due to 24 Hour Rule'. Berlitz like to give the impression that they are unilaterally and forcibly closing off schedules in a panic attempt to conform with Article. 35 of Labour Standards Law that requires workers to be given 1 rest day per week. But as usual, Berlitz has misinterpreted the law and doesn't realize that a worker choosing to work on their rest day has every right to do so.
To add to the absurdity, a calendar day refers to a period starting from midnight and ending at midnight the following day. Berlitz couldn't even get this right and has manipulated the schedule so that 24 hours covers a period that is most beneficial to the LC. Berlitz have breached numerous contract agreements and set up their own 1 rest day law in the process. A rapid rethink is in order here.
The 1 day rule has come at a convenient time for Berlitz. The Kyufukin students are diminishing, the Summer Campaign is not taking off and the LCs that over hired to cover the demand are suffering. Taking lessons away (particularly Sunday premium rate) from long serving Instructors to distribute to Instructors brought in on Sunday contracts is yet another laughable example of Berlitz cost-cutting.

Monitored Lessons
As part of this years' SHUNTO, the Tokyo based Berlitz Union, BEGUNTO demanded that there should be no unannounced monitoring of Berlitz Instructors. It should be pointed out that the type of monitoring taking place at Berlitz is not legitimate in terms of offering useful advice to Instructors. The type of monitoring currently taking place at Berlitz does not follow guidelines set by the International Labor Organization. An ILO code of practice, Protection of workers' personal data, states that monitoring 'can only be conducted if the workers' concerned are informed in advance of the employer's intentions. Consequently, before the monitoring is put into operation, the workers must know the purpose of the monitoring and have a clear idea of the time schedule (section 6.14).

Law of Education in Japan
The type of monitoring currently taking place at Berlitz is at odds with the Basic Law of Education in Japan. In one case, (Meguro Koto-Gakko, Tokyo District Court, decision) a dismissal based on a tape recording of lessons by a teacher without the teachers' consent was contested. The court nullified the dismissal because the tape recording constituted an inappropriate intervention in education which is prohibited by section 10(1) of the Basic Law on Education. Thus, the reasoning was not based on a general worker's right of privacy but on the independence of education - to be free from intervention even by the management of a private school - and may not necessarily be extended to other categories of workers. The judgment stated that tape recording 'is not an appropriate measure to verify the content of the lessons for the purpose of giving useful assistance or advice'. The court overruled the dismissal because it was based on proof (contents of the lessons) collected by unjustified means (Conditions of work Digest, Vol. 12, 1/1993, ILO Publications, Geneva).
Berlitz should, of course, end all unannounced monitoring. Monitoring through a listening device is not an appropriate measure to verify the contents of the lessons for the purpose of giving useful assistance or advice. So says the court interpreting the Basic Law on Education. Private schools must also adhere to this law. Therefore, Berlitz should end all monitoring through listening device or recording device for the purposes of performance evaluation.

Berlitz Lock-up
Berlitz have agreed that Pay Per Lesson Instructors do not have to lock up Berlitz language Centers. Berlitz will restrict the locking up to Contract Instructors and Per Lesson Instructors who 'volunteer'. Berlitz understands that asking Pay Per Lesson Instructors to lock up puts them in an unpaid work situation. Contact the Berlitz Union if your rights are being abused.

July 22nd, 2003
Illegal Pay Per Lesson Contracts
General Union - Berlitz Branch
Berlitz (internationally) prides itself as being '...the leader in language instruction for more than a century', while closer to home, Berlitz Japan boasts it has a 'unique and flexible workforce.

While the General Union is in no position to comment on the first claim, we are in a strong position to comment regarding the second. In recent months, the General Union has held consultations with the Labour Standards Office and the Ministry of Labour. We were seeking clarification on how Berlitz Japan could operate such a unique and flexible workforce without offering illegal contracts. The answer was a resounding "It can't!"

In the old days, Berlitz Japan offered instructors a full-time contract with a range of schedules to choose from. These days, the only full-time contracts offered to foreign national staff are management and the odd specialist position. Apart from a scattering of senior instructors, full -time contracts are but a distant memory.

What Berlitz offers these days is a range of part-time contracts that are designed to fit within the needs and requirements of each Language Center.

Illegal Contracts
One of Berlitz's unique part-time contracts is the Pay Per Lesson Contract. This contract is best defined as:
'a one year agreement between two parties that offers the possibility of work at a set rate but with no guarantees.'

Under Japanese Law an employment contract is required to clearly state working hours and conditions. As this contract doesn't meet these requirements it falls into a more than grey area and can be regarded as illegal.

Not happy with just offering illegal contracts, Berlitz also feels it can exploit the Pay Per Lesson arrangement. Instructors have a schedule built around their availability, meaning an Instructor can be on call from 7.00am to 10.00pm. As Instructors receive their schedules daily and will not know what the following day brings until the evening before this leads to an insecure workforce waiting for the next day's schedule handouts. It's not unusual for Instructors at Berlitz to teach a couple of lessons in the morning, a couple more in the afternoon and then 3 or 4 in the evening. Why don't Instructors just close off part of their availability, you may well ask? Instructors who have tried just that suddenly find their lessons drop far beyond their close of availability. You may remember a case in Nagoya whereby Berlitz went so far as to take a teacher's lessons away. It took the intervention of the General Union to make Berlitz reschedule lessons for this particular member.

Berlitz want teachers to provide full availability without a fixed guarantee of income or schedule. Sorry Berlitz, you can't have it both ways. If you are a Berlitz Pay Per Lesson teacher and are being punished for or can't take off the time you need, then contact the Berlitz Union.

June 10th, 2003
Kansai Other Language Department
The Berlitz grapevine is working overtime at the moment and no more so than in the Other Language Department in Kansai. The most recent rumor is based on a 'voluntary resignation' case the Berlitz Union is currently resolving. The rumor goes like this;

"Psst, did you hear about the strategy Berlitz will use with the Union and teachers they don't like from now on?
They are using the Union's demand that teachers should be provided with no less than their minimum contract units against them. Instead of providing 'bad' teachers with out of contract lessons, Berlitz will stick with the bare minimum and blame it on the Union when teachers complain or decide to quit. They say that the Union is always talking about the law and want everything done by the book. They say the Union is totally inflexible, so let's go by the book and give "THEM" the law".

From the Berlitz Union's perspective, this could have been just another one of those rumors that go around from time to time. However, the timing and content of this rumor fit in too closely with a current case and Union/Management level talks regarding the unfair and abusive treatment that the Kansai Other Language Department dishes out to its team of Instructors! The Berlitz Union knows that Berlitz wouldn't consciously spread such malicious rumors as they know they would be committing an unfair labor practice in violation of Article 7 of the Trade Union Law. However, it appears that somebody in or close to management involved in the case has decided to speak a little too freely and publicly.

Reality

It's common knowledge that Other Language Department Instructors do lose lessons or get ousted when they don't toe the line or decide not to 'put up and shut up'. This control mechanism has remained unchallenged by Instructors because of a justified fear that their job security could turn to insecurity overnight. The number of teachers who have slipped away 'quietly' from the Other Language Department has not gone unnoticed. On questioning Instructors who are forced to resign from the Other Language Department, the Berlitz Union is always told the same story...'I don't want to fight the forced dismissal as it's a terrible place to work and I wouldn't want to go back there."

This particular case was a first for the Other Language Department because their usual 'sign this voluntary resignation letter process' backfired when the Instructor decided to fight the dismissal and get the Berlitz Union involved. It only takes one person to stand up for their workers' rights and not allow management pressure to force them into submission to make a difference. On this note, what should Instructors really read into this rumor?

"Psst, did you hear about the Other Language Teacher who received a disrequest and was asked to voluntarily resign? Well, they decided to fight the dismissal and not only did the Berlitz Union save their job but they also got the Instructor a minimum guarantee of lessons."

Going from zero lessons to a minimum guarantee after the Berlitz Union intervened just goes to show that by playing it by the law, the Berlitz Union protects and will continue to protect the rights of our members. Let's hope these rumors subside and management and the Union get back to negotiating in a proper and reasonable fashion. Let's also hope the rumor doesn't get out that Other Language Teachers are forced to lie to Immigration to get their working visas only to have these contracts reneged on back at the L.C. and switched to per lesson flexible floater contracts.

Article 28 of the Japanese Constitution.
The right of workers to organize and to bargain and act collectively is guaranteed.

Article 7 of the Trade Union Law.
Employers shall not treat workers in a disadvantageous manner for being members or performing proper duties of a trade union.

April 2nd, 2003
G.U. Berlitz Branch supports Nichibei members on the picket line.

March 28th, 2003
Branch Declaration at Berlitz Gakuenmae
Instructors at a Berlitz franchise school in Nara have declared the formation of their own branch union in order to begin Collective Bargaining with the joint owners of their 'independently owned and operated' L.C. Gakuenmae L.C. is currently in breach of numerous Labor Standards Laws that Berlitz Japan were forced to correct in the past. One owner of Gakuenmae L.C. is Mr. Morita. He owns a number of chain schools throughout the Kansai region. He of all people should know better than to violate Labour Standards Law.

Tennoji L.C. Cuts Costs at Students' Expense
As part of a cost cutting drive, Tennoji L.C. in Osaka is experimenting with a labor cost reduction plan. This experiment involves the removal of established Berlitz rules and procedures in order to reduce the number of loss making units. If you are considering a transfer to Tennoji L.C. then expect the following;
No Formal Method Feedback
After an I.S. / mentor monitors your lesson, it is standard practice (at most L.C.s) to receive method feedback. The method feedback allows Instructors to know how their lesson went from the students' perspective and also provides an opportunity for ongoing support and training.
At Tennoji L.C., things are different. Instructors experience a healthy number of unannounced monitored lessons but do not receive a scheduled feedback method. Tennoji L.C. has decided to cut costs and corners by calling Instructors in for 'a quick unpaid 5 minute chat' instead. These 5 minutes chats (extended to 40 minutes) focus on a lesson monitored a few days earlier. (the comments bear little resemblance to the lesson taught) How can Berlitz justify the T.P.E. system when Instructors do not receive the 'professional ongoing training' as advertised to the ELT community?
Unpaid Overtime and Transfer Threats
Tennoji L.C. Instructors were called to a meeting in February to be told that Berlitz Japan had requested its L.C.s to cut methods and offices by 15% as part of 'teams'. To meet with this figure, Tennoji L.C. notified Instructors that they would have to perform unpaid overtime. Instructors were told in no uncertain terms that a failure to perform unpaid overtime would result in immediate transfers.
Abusive Treatment
In October, 2002, the I.S. at Tennoji was involved in a highly unpleasant episode in the staff room. Instructors found themselves on the receiving end of a torrent of abuse and threats. The abuse and threats do not just remain within the confines of Tennoji L.C. Instructors made written complaints after staff and students received abuse at the L.C. Christmas party. These complaints have so far been ignored by the I.S.'s superiors. It's not surprising that Instructors have transferred or resigned from Tennoji L.C. citing unfair and abusive behavior as their reason to leave.

March 10th, 2003
Demonstrations
On March 10, BEGUNTO members met and participated in demonstrations in front of offices of Nissan Motors, Keidanren, an employers' association, and Nikkei Shimbun to protest unfair employment practices and dismissals.

March, 2003
Elections
The following members have been elected to the BEGUNTO Executive Committee for 2003:
Robert P Lohmann - President
Craig Howitt - Vice President
Sean Kennedy - Vice President
Catherine Campbell - General Secretary
John Garrett - Treasurer
Christoph Sauser - Representative, Other Languages Department

Scott Sherwood has been elected Auditor, a non-executive position.

December 12th, 2002
Unfair Labour Practice Warning
The General Union sent Berlitz a warning after the Berlitz Branch Chair was told not to perform union duties in the L.C. The actions of Berlitz were in violation of Trade Union Law and the Constitution of Japan. Any such further violations will lead to sterner action against Berlitz Japan.

December 7th, 2002
Benesse Show their Muscle
Teachers at Umeda L.C. received an 'apology' from our parent company Benesse after they were subjected to abuse from a Benesse salesman. Read all about it in the following article:
Newcomers to Berlitz may not have been formally introduced to our parent company Benesse. If recent events are anything to go by then that is all to change. For your interest, Berlitz International became a 100% fully owned subsidiary of Benesse on June 1, 2001. Benesse already owned the bulk of Berlitz shares and it was just a matter of time before they bought the company out right. What has this meant for Instructors? Well, Benesse allowed the deteriorating conditions at Berlitz to begin long before they gained full ownership. What the future brings is anybody's guess. Ask any of the senior Instructors and they will tell you that Berlitz is not what it was 10 years ago. This can be blamed on the recession until the cows come home but the fact of the matter is that Berlitz International, and in particular Berlitz Japan have been the flagships for Benesse for the past few years and look to continue to be so. Benesse really have decided to put profits before their employees. The pay per lesson system pays tribute to that. Now that Benesse own Berlitz, they can control company resources and contracts.

Umeda L.C. Instructors were made painfully aware of this at a school out service on November 27, when a Benesse salesperson decided to enter each of their classrooms unannounced to monitor each lesson. Instructors were, in moderate terms, given monitor feedback during their break. The monitor feedback was critical, bad mannered, discourteous, ill-timed, out of place and rude to say the least. A great motivating tool for Instructors who were only 4 weeks into a course and still had another lesson to give.

What was the response of Berlitz to this unfortunate event?
You'll be happy to hear that the Umeda I.S. and the Kansai Out Service Coordinator for Universities saw how serious the situation was and went out of their way to put things right. On December 3, the Instructors attended a meeting with the Berlitz Coordinator and a Benesse liaison. All Instructors were handed a written apology in Japanese that the liaison had also translated into English. However, a Japanese reader was shocked by the Japanese version and stated, "this apology is very odd and lacks any polite form of Japanese language". It was most unfortunate that the salesperson was unable to attend the meeting as he had 'a prior engagement'.

Berlitz Instructors were assured that it wasn't the salespersons intention to cause any bad feeling and that his inexperience was to blame. Instructors were asked to greet him when they next met. Instructors were also asked to put the event behind them and look to the future, but as one of the Berlitz Instructors who attends the out service said, "trustful relationships are built over time be it personal or business and now Benesse have to prove themselves as willing, able and tolerant of Berlitz Instructors before we can even consider communicating effectively, let alone working cooperatively".
The Berlitz Union feels that things are strained enough at L.C.s and doesn't relish repeats of this kind with Benesse.

As for the apology!

For a man who introduced his female colleague as, "this is my subordinate" we couldn't have expected any more.

December 1st, 2002
Sister Union Meeting
Today saw representatives for the 3 Berlitz sister unions meet in Kansai for formal union discussions.

November 12th, 2002
Collective Bargaining
The General Union Berlitz Branch (BEGUN) will hold Collective Bargaining on Friday, November 15th and BEGUNTO will hold Collective Bargaining on Saturday, November 16th.

October 28th, 2002
Fred scheduled for HR meeting.
Fred Shannon is scheduled for a 3 hour HR meeting on Wednesday, October 30th.

October 26th, 2002
Nakano LC closes Fred's schedule.
Fred Shannon arrived at his LC this morning to find that his schedule for Saturday, Sunday and Monday had been blocked off without warning. Fred has been summoned to another management meeting next week.

October 21st, 2002
Work rules for All?
A teacher in Hommachi LC was copying a section of the work rules, when their IS asked what they were doing. The teacher replied that they were copying a section to refer to in their own time. The IS then informed the teacher that the work rules were the property of Berlitz Japan and they were not allowed to make copies. The teacher was instructed to immediately dispose of anything they had. The Berlitz General Union was not aware of the new work rules retrieval number. 00: Keep the teachers ignorant.

Come on 'middle management', don't make it harder than it already is!

October 19th, 2002
A new member joins the list of PPL dismissals.
In June, 2002 at Tennoji LC, a teacher was dismissed with severance. After the teacher contacted Human Resources to discuss the dismissal, HR decided to step in and change the dismissal to a warning. The teacher was scheduled to attend a follow up meeting on June 24th to clarify the new decision but the LC management failed to attend. Human resources contacted the teacher and informed them that under Berlitz work rules, their failure to attend the meeting was considered voluntary termination. The General Union - Berlitz Branch (BEGUN) is investigating.

October 11th, 2002
A case of bad scheduling or petty harrassment? You be the judge!
Matsudo LC is part of the Kashiwa - Matsudo - Kita-Senju unit.
If Kita-Senju LC is short of a teacher then it is standard practice to request a teacher from either Kashiwa LC or Matsudo LC. On October 8th, two teachers came to understand the meaning of substandard practice.

Kita-Senju requested a teacher to cover evening lessons. At the same time Kudan LC requested a teacher too. A teacher from Matsudo LC who could have easily traveled to their unit school Kita Senju LC was sent to Kudan LC (a 1 hour commute), while a teacher from Nakano LC was sent all the way to Kita-Senju LC.

A lesson for management;
Nakano LC is closer to Kudan LC than Kita-Senju LC.
Matsudo LC is closer to Kita-Senju LC than Kudan LC.

Both teachers had to make unnecessarily long journeys to LCs far out of their unit boundaries. Now if the teacher from Matsudo LC had been sent to Kita-Senju LC and the teacher from Nakano LC had been sent to Kudan LC then this unfair scheduling needn't have happened.

For those of you who have kept up so far, here's another interesting point;
Both teachers are known union activists and are in the process of disputes with management! You be the judge!
BEGUNTO will seek an accounting of this matter from management.

October 10th, 2002
Berlitz Tokyo HQ opens BEGUNTO mail
Berlitz Tokyo HQ informed the union that it opened union mail (supposedly with the permission of the union member). Upon realising it was union mail, Berlitz gathered up all the envelopes that looked similar and refused to give them to BEGUNTO members.

The April 30th, 1996 agreement stipulates that:
'Berlitz will not unlawfully interfere with the communication process between BEGUNTO and its members.' and 'Berlitz will transmit any mail addressed to BEGUNTO and received by Berlitz to a person designated by a notice from BEGUNTO to Berlitz'.

The same points were agreed to earlier in the July 28th, 1995 agreement in which Berlitz sent a memo to all directors and head teachers on July 31st, 1995 which states:
'Berlitz will not interfere with the communication process vis-a-vis the union and its members. This includes the use of mail service (we agree to pass on any mail, etc. received at the centers for union members)...'

October 10th, 2002
Here comes the drought
Drought season has officially arrived. The intensive immersion students are long gone and the business students are thin on the ground. For the pay per lesson teachers who have only just joined Berlitz, the next few months will be a struggle.

October 2nd, 2002
BEGUN hold Collective Bargaining with Management
Successful Collective Bargaining session held on Wednesday, October 2nd, 2002 from 11.00am to 1.00pm at Kansai Regional Office.

September 17th, 2002
BEGUN Request Collective Bargaining
The General Union - Berlitz Branch (BEGUN) have requested Collective Bargaining with Management to negotiate a range of member demands.

September 2002
The Matsudo Paint Incident
A settlement in what has been called "The Matsudo Paint Incident" or "The Toxic Chemical Incident at Matsudo LC" has been agreed to between The Executive Commitee of BEGUNTO and Berlitz Management.
The Executive Commitee would like to thank all of those who have contributed to this settlement with their hard work, both in and out of negotiations. Our thanks and appreciation, most especially go out to the Matsudo teachers.

August 1st, 2002
Nakano IS hands out 2 "Only Warnings" to union member
Nakano IS meets with union member to hand them 2 documents that are "only warnings". The reprimand letters are supposed to come later this month. According to the IS, there is a difference between a reprimand and a warning, although their explanation must have come from NOVA as it isn't in the Berlitz Work Rules. The Berlitz Union advises the IS to thoroughly check Berlitz Policy/Procedures 4.06 to correct the conflicting information they are sending out. If you are going to hand out warnings and reprimands then at least do it properly.

July 22nd, 2002
Collective Agreement giving Union posting rights is Breached yet again!!
The General Union - Berlitz Branch and Berlitz signed a Collective Agreement giving the union posting rights in April 2001. In May, June and now July, 2002 this agreement has been breached. A union representative delivered the July edition of VOICE to LCs in Osaka and found that the union folder had been removed from the wall in Shinsaibashi LC and covered with a box at Honmachi LC. Berlitz has offered its apologies for the incidents in May and June. What are we going to do about these latest incidents?

July 16th, 2002
Nakano IS gives union member the cold shoulder
Nakano IS calls a union member into his office and informs them they will no longer receive lessons.
This is a PERMANENT action. More to follow shortly......

July 1st, 2002
The Visit
General Union officials visit Umeda LC to protest repeated removal of union literature in breach of a Collective Agreement.

July 2002
BEGUNTO Bulletin - Health risk at Matsudo LC
On April 18th painting and resurfacing work began on the exterior of the Matsudo LC building. A teacher in one of the classrooms noticed a strong chemical odour; he became dizzy and nauseous. Another teacher complained of the same symptoms. They suggested to the desk staff that classes be cancelled.
Despite the conditions, management refused to cancel lessons - in particular, children's lessons. Teachers' protests were ignored; they were told not to discuss the matter with the children's mother, one of whom removed a younger child from the LC. A replacement teacher was not informed of the problem. He also experienced discomfort.

Painting continued the next day with fumes again being noticed, yet management failed to respond even after the teachers reported confirmation by physicians of their exposure to a harmful chemical substance.

Shortly after the incident, Human Resources attempted to discipline one of the teachers on the basis of charges he characterized as trivial. At the same time HR refused to hold local management at Matsudo LC responsible for its inadequate and seemingly callous response to this serious matter.

BEGUNTO demands adherence to high standards not only for its students, especially the children, but also out of concern for all its members and Berlitz employees.
LC management must be held accountable for its actions.

June 30th, 2002
General Union - Berlitz Branch (BEGUN) holds its Annual Union Meeting.
The Annual General Meeting focussed on a range of serious issues that have developed over the course of the year.

June 26th, 2002
Tampering Instructional Supervisor
Union material holder is tampered with and damaged by the Instructional Supervisor at Umeda LC.

May 2002
Apology
Berlitz apologises for removing union literature from Umeda LC in Kansai.
Removal of union literature is in breach of a Collective Bargaining Agreement.

May 2002
Annual Gains
BEGUNTO successfully wins its members a range of new benefits in its Annual Collective Bargaining session. Teachers and Staff will notice these improvements being implemented as the year continues.

May 2002
In protest to the removal of union literature in Kansai, we installed the new look Berlitz General Union holder. Our Collective Agreement gives us an A4 space on the school board. We have fully utilized this space by using a mulitpocket holder which contains a whole wealth of union material.