Wage discrimination alive and well at ECC

This was essentially the argument leveled against this large eikaiwa chain in Chapter Ten of English to Go.

A few points:

1. ECC, like all eikaiwa schools, has made English lessons taught by native English teachers its core business. It cannot run without them.

2. Japanese employees at ECC get fixed salaries, bonuses, promotions, steady increases and a raft of benefots foreign teachers do not.

3. As one example Japanese staff at ECC have always received paid bereavement leave, etc: for a death in the family or other 'auspicious occasions.' Foreign staff had to fight with union help just to get unpaid leave for the same occasions. At first they weren't offered it at all.

Now after years of stagnant salaries, the union is trying to bargain with ECC for a simple pay increase, in line with the rise in taxes and the cost of living in Japan. Remember that pay increases are readily offered to Japanese Seishain - or permanent staff.  The company's response?  They refuse to bargain.

Under Article Seven of the Japanese Labor Union Law, this is not even legal.  A company must negotiate in good faith.  The message is simple: foreign staff are not entitled to the same rights as Japanese. This is untrue.

 For more...

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government's Foreign Worker Guidebook:

http://www.hataraku.metro.tokyo.jp/soudan-c/center/all-e2008.pdf

The General Union's latest news at ECC:

http://generalunion.org/Joomla/index.php/en/ecc/1231-ecc-deadline-looms

Know your rights.