The Union News Vol. 2, No. 9; Consecutive No. 19  6 July 2001
The Union News, an official English newsletter of  the Hokuriku University Union, is published  from time to time as need arises in the (anonymous)  editors' judgment.

Talks Ends with Uproar; Union Accuses Management of Breaching Pact
In Connection with Bonus Payment
In the bad old days before the birth of the Union  at Hokuriku Univeristy, the employees deeply bowed
and received envelopes containing bonus money from the chairman. Both he and the president forced both
the teachers and office staff to listen to their  speeches before the chairman started to personally
hand out the envelopes.
In addition, the employees had to bring their "hanko" to formally acknowledge receipt of bonus with
people from the accounting department, waiting just outside the sixth floor "reception room."
The irritating, time-wasting "bonus ceremony" was  abolished in December 1996 thanks to the Union's
hard work to persuade the management to stop it.
This was one of the first achievements of the then Union leaders, including Chairman Takashi Tsuchiya
(a retired pharmacology professor), Vice Chairman  Toshio Shimazaki (the current chairperson) and
Secretary-General Yoshiki Sakurada.
Yet, the management unilaterally decalred toward the end of the last collective bargaining on July 4
that it opted to pay "cash," meaning the ceremony's resumption.
The Union executives and other members present at the negotiations immediately registered protests.
Questions followed, too. But the management side refused to answer any important questions, such as
"When did board make this decision?"
The Union's stand regarding the "bonus ceremony"  is firm: It breaches and violates the years-old
formal agreement between the Union and managers to get rid of the ceremony.
In the uproar that followed the declaration, the  Union insisted strongly that bonus is part of
"livelihood money" rather than the money to which the employees should be grateful. In other words,
bonus is not something which the university people should appareciate as a gesture of good will on the
part of the management led by the Benevolent and  Great Leader.
A Union member pointed to an Asahi Shimbun story of December 10, 1996 that quoted Cabinet Secretary-
General Seiroku Kajiyama as saying that "Bonus is part of livelihood money." Also, in international
wage comparisons, Japan's wage levels include the twice-a-year bonus income as just such money. The
worker has the right to get bonus to cover his or her living cost.
In collective bargainings, the stubborn managers usually refuse to exchange a memo of understanding
to confirm the points the two sides agreed. This is quite unreasonable. But when it comes to the
ceremony, there exists written evidence. In its  (Japanese) Kumiai News, No. 153 issued on June
17, 2000, the Union mentioned the agreement to scrap the ceremony, describing it as "abnormal." No
protests were registered against this report,  meaning that the management admitted all this
was true.
As Secretary-General Koshi Okano made it clear  in his recent memo, the Union is opposed to the
resurrection of the silly ceremony. But the Union has no intention to force the members to boycott it.
Those who immediately need cash may choose to meet with the president and get it.
The Union is also demanding higher bonuses and  salaries for all of academic year 2001.  
The Union's proposals and thinking were mentioned in full in the Japanese Kumiai News, No. 172 of
July 5, 2001.