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Article

28 Sep 2020

Author:
弁護士ドットコム

Japan: Irregular workers at Fujio Food Group strike to demand paid leave during Covid-19 shutdown

"「休業手当支払って」女性アルバイトら、ストライキ決行 非正規労働者の苦境訴える", 3 Sep 2020

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

On September 3, two part-time workers at a café operated by Fujio Food System [currently Fujio Food Group]…began a two-week strike to demand that the company provide paid leave during business shutdowns as a result of Covid-19.

…According to the Shokuinten Union, the café was closed from April to May due to Covid-19. Although the company provided paid leave to workers in April, there was no compensation for workers in May.

Aside from the store manager, the cafe employees are all irregular workers. The employees who went on strike work four days a week, earning approximately 100,000 yen a month.

…When they asked for paid leave for when the café was closed due to Covid-19, they received pay for a small number of shifts that had already been scheduled for April and nothing for May. Since June, they have engaged in collective bargaining with the employer but have not succeeded in reaching an agreement on paid leave.

According to the Shokuinten Union, the company provided full paid leave for regular workers during the Covid-19 shutdown…

Fujio Food System states that it is not obligated to provide paid leave for irregular workers because the café was closed due to business shutdowns mandated by the government. Furthermore, it states that denying paid leave for irregular workers is not illegal because the company's profits are limited and its regular workers are prohibited from taking other jobs.

Fujio Food System is categorized as a large enterprise...These companies, which are less likely to receive the government's employment adjustment subsidy, are increasingly denying paid leave to workers...

Furthermore, employees of large enterprises are ineligible for government subsidies that provide paid leave and support workers impacted by business shutdowns. As a result, these workers receive no allowance from their employers or the government...

On September 3, Fujio Food System said that its lawyers are working on this issue.

An attorney for the company also responded, “We cannot make any comments at this time as we are in the middle of discussions with the employees.”

Timeline