Labor relations commission orders railway company to end discrimination against union members

A prefectural labor relations commission has ordered Japan Freight Railway to stop discrimination against National Railway Workers' Union (Kokuro) members in wages and promotion and compensate 31 workers.

On June 10, the Toyama Prefectural Labor Relations Commission ruled that using management power to interfere with the union's activities is an unfair labor practice and ordered the freight railway company to pay differentials to the 31 workers.

The labor authority's ruling came eight years after Kokuro first filed complaint with the commission demanding an end to discrimination against its members.

Japan Freight Railway is one of the companies established after the privatization of the state-run National Railways in April 1987. Kokuro has continued to exist along with the JR Workers' Union, but its members have often been discriminated against and paid less than JR Workers' Union members. (end)