The Union News, Vol. 2, No. 4; Consecutive No. 14, 6 February 2001
The Union News, an English newsletter of the Hokuriku University Union,is
published from time to time as need arises in the (anonymous) editors'judgment.
Next Collective Bargaining
Set for Wednesday
After several attempts, the Union has managed to have the management agree
to another collective bargaining session. The meeting--the first one after
the lawsuit by Prof. Yoshihiko Hatsugai against both chairman Yoshiro Kitamoto
and the university--will take place on Wednesday, February 7 at the conference
room adjacent to the library on the Pharmaceutical
Sciences campus. It is slated to start at 6 p.m.
In its proposal the Union demanded that the agenda include the so-called
Hatsugai issue, the document dated on January 29 in the name of executive
managing director Koichi Nakagawa, and revising salary for fiscal 2000, in
that order. The first item is technically called "explanation by chairman
Kitamoto himself about the alleged incident on September 14, 2000, in which
he is said to have tried to force
Mr. Yoshihiko Hatsugai, former dean at the Faculty of Law, to quit, using
a Japanese sword." The second item refers to the management's attempted justification
for locking Hatsugai-sensei out.
In its response the management opted for a single item: the pay negotiations.
But who could prevent a member from raising the sword-and-the-professor issue?
The Union's stand regarding the Nakagawa document is fully stated in the
(Japanese version of) Kumiai
News, No. 167 (January 30). The management dared to misinterpret the January
16 Kanazawa District Court order, insisting that its decision "clearly" allows
the management to refuse an opportunity
of the professor's teaching.
The court order mentioned nothing like this. The important phrasein
the court paper is MAINTAINING THE STATUS AS A PROFESSOR. In other words,
a judge judged that Hatsugai-sensei should be allowed to carry out both research
and teaching as a professor, of course using his office.
Goodwill: Donations for Hatsugai-san
On January 30 the Union launched its campaign to seek donations for Prof.
Yoshihiko Hatsugai to help finance his legal battles with both chairman Yoshiro
Kitamoto as an individual and the board he heads.
In just a week, half a dozen people responded, one professor donating 100,000
yen.
Union members are being urged to follow suit, regardless of amount.
Goodwill counts more than the yen figure.