Kokuro and JR East Sign Full Reconciliation Agreement: Ground Laid for Settlement of Dispute over Refusal to Hire Kokuro Members
On November 6 at the Central Labour Relations Commission, according to Kyodo News, the East Japan headquarters of the National Railway Workers' Union, known as Kokuro, and the East Japan Railway Co. (JR East) signed a blanket reconciliation agreement ending all 61 labor disputes between them. The disputes were brought to court by Kokuro members calling on regional labor relations commissions for remedial action, claiming that JR East's actions against members with regard to promotion and personnel transfer, among other things, should be recognized as unfair labor practices.
Since 1987, when the Japanese National Railways was broken up and privatized, a spate of labor disputes have raged between Kokuro, which raised objections to the dissolution and privatization, and the newly established JR companies. Although most disputes involving JR companies other than JR East had been resolved, the latter had remained unresolved. Throughout these years, some cases were brought to the Supreme Court: in a 1998 lawsuit in which the dispute involved JR Tokai, which had taken disciplinary action against and cut the wages of Kokuro members who wore union badges, a verdict was issued against the union members, whereas in a similar lawsuit in 1999, involving JR East, the verdict went in favor of Kokuro members. The dissolution and privatization of the giant national company was an event of national importance which caused mass unemployment and long and bitter labor disputes. The government sought an amicable settlement in vain, as bloody feuds arising from conflicts among the unions resulted in many deaths.
With the latest reconciliation agreement, the relations between JR East and Kokuro which have been hopelessly hostile for such a long time assuming an aspect in which no one can win, seem to have been substantially repaired for the first time in 19 years. Although there still remains a dispute over a case in which JR East refused to hire 1,047 Kokuro members, the conditions for a settlement have been put in place.
The blanket reconciliation agreement covers 43 cases which had been under dispute at the Central Labour Relations Commission, including the case of the union badges and a case in which JR East transferred union members to affiliated companies, as well as 18 similar cases which were disputed at regional labor relations commissions. It reportedly covers more than 10,000 union members in 13 prefectures, requiring, among other things, that "both parties should strive to establish a good, sound labor-management relationship," that "JR East should engage in fair and justifiable personnel management" and "should pay for the settlement," and that "Kokuro withdraw claims currently under dispute."
In the meantime, on November 15, the International Labour Organization adopted a recommendation upon the request of Kokuro that the Japanese government consider accepting an ILO offer to help resolve the labor disputes.
