[Excerpt translation from Japanese to English provided by the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre.]

“'When they strike, we strike back harder’, lawsuit against the state begins in Kansai Nama-Kon case”, 22 Aug 2020

On August 21, the Tokyo District Court began hearings on a lawsuit seeking compensation in the Kansai Nama-Kon Union case...

“Our job is labour organizing. As part of the release deal, we are prohibited from interacting with other union members and entering the premises of our union’s office. We can’t do our jobs under these conditions. We are asking the court for a fair judgement," said Kansai Nama-Kon Undersecretary. “…We are a legal entity that is guaranteed under article 28 of the constitution. We protect union members' rights and welfare through activities such as collective bargaining,” said Susumu Kikuchi, All-Japan Construction and Transport Solidarity Union Committee Chair . "We ensure fair prices by preventing exploitation of general contractors by facilitating cooperation between small-medium businesses and unions. We’ve also become a union that represents workers across sectors, protecting even those who are unaffiliated with a specific organization. The police in 2 districts across 4 prefectures arrested 89 union members—of which 67 were charged—on the basis that this collective agreement is illegal," said Kenichi Take, Kansai Nama-Kon Committee Chair. “…The police, prosecutors, and the courts don’t understand labour unions. They ignore the laws around labour unions. Through this lawsuit, we want the courts to demonstrate their enforcement power,” said Yuji Yukawa, Kansai Nama-Kon Vice Committee Chair…