Workers of German auto parts maker fight against restructuring

Bosch Automotive Systems Corporation, a German-owned automobile parts supplier in Japan, is forcing its workers in Saitama Prefecture near Tokyo to decide either to move to a plant in Akita Prefecture in northern Japan or leave the company.

Faced with this new problem, workers and their family members formed a group and held a meeting on December 29 to discuss how to fight against the company's coercive measure.

Bosch plans to dismiss 500 workers who formerly belonged to an automobile equipment maker which Bosch merged with, have them rehired by another company (Hitachi Unisia Automotive, Ltd.), and then move 200 out of the 500 workers in Saitama to Unisia's Akita plant.

Workers will experience a 20-percent pay cut if their employment is changed from Bosch to Unisia.

Unisia is also carrying out restructuring that involves a dismissal of 400 workers at its Akita Plant. They will be replaced with the 200 former Bosch workers.

Last summer, 55 workers of the Bosch Saitama plant were asked to choose between going to Akita and quitting the company, and 31 of them have reluctantly agreed with their transfer to the Akita plant. And they are now being forced to resign from Bosch and be employed by Unisia.

The Bosch management is telling the remaining 150 workers to make their choice by the end of January.

A labor lawyer explained to workers that the company has no right to move workers to another company at lower wages without their consent, and that the Bosch plan of replacing 400 workers in its Akita plant with 200 workers from its Saitama plant can't be legally justifiable.

Participants in the meeting agreed to express their will to reject their transfer to Unisia and inform all workers of the fact that the management compelling workers to resign is a legal case of unfair labor practice.

A worker who has already moved to the Akita plant said that his life is miserable as he has to live alone, far from his family. "I don't want to just sigh and give in," he said. (end)