NTT urges workers to transfer to subsidiaries without showing details

Under a "110,000 personnel restructuring plan," and without showing office regulations, NTT East (Nippon Telegram and Telephone East Corporation) is urging its workers to accept retirement and then to transfer to its subsidiary companies.

NTT East has notified the workers 50 years and older to reply by January 18, urging each to either agree to retire and to be sent to NTT subsidiaries, or express hope to remain.

But, NTT's notice failed to show any details on office regulations and precise sites of subsidiaries concerned.

About 55,000 NTT workers 50 and older are being obliged to accept the company offer on retirement and to be re-employed by an NTT subsidiary by accepting a 30% cut in their basic wages. Otherwise, they must accept being transferred to any local office if they want to stay with NTT.

In negotiations between NTT East and the Telecommunication Industry Workers' Union on January 16, the management refused to give advance notice to workers on details of subsidiaries.

Under the Labor Standards Law, the company must refer to office regulations, locations, and major business of the new company in written form, a lawyer for the union pointed out. If NTT fails to do this, any contract on retirement is ineffective, he added.

Iwasaki Shun, the union's chair, emphasized that so long as NTT hesitates to give them any details, it must extend the time limit for workers' replies.

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The Japanese Communist Party Hokkaido Prefectural Committee on January 16 made representations to the NTT East Hokkaido office, demanding that NTT fully accept each worker's opinion in dealing with the company's personnel policy. (end)