Effect given to the recommendations of the committee and the Governing Body - Report No 340, March 2006

Case No 2114 (Japan) - Complaint date: 18-JAN-01 - Closed

Effect given to the recommendations of the Committee and the Governing Body

1. 120. The Committee last examined the follow-up to this case at its November 2002 meeting when it requested the Government to take appropriate measures to encourage and promote the full development and utilization of machinery for voluntary negotiation with a view to the regulation of terms and conditions of employment by means of collective agreements for public school teachers [see 329th Report, paras. 67-72].
2. 121. In communications dated 14 February 2003, 10 May 2004 and 27 July 2005, the Okayama Prefectural High School Teachers’ Association Union (“the OHTU”) provided additional information. Concerning the right of public school teachers to bargain collectively, the Okayama Prefectural Education Commission (“OPEC”) took measures which the OHTU considered unfair because it goes against the right to bargain collectively under ILO Convention No. 98 and the Local Public Service Law. According to the OHTU, the reality is that even negotiations based on the Local Public Service Law are not fully guaranteed. There are no voluntary negotiations and collective agreements do not cover wages and employment conditions, which the OHTU illustrates with some examples:
3. – Although the OHTU demanded that a special pay raise at retirement be separately negotiated (instead, OPEC took up the subject for discussion in the annual negotiation session) and although the OHTU demanded the withdrawal of the proposal (instead, OPEC made changes not in favour of the OHTU), in 2004, OPEC decided to abolish the special pay raise at retirement without sufficient negotiations and resulted in losses to teachers retiring in the current year.
4. – In 2001, OPEC established a commendation system and took a measure to shorten the pay-raise period without negotiation and did not inform the OHTU at all (they were only informed in 2004). The OHTU made strong protests to OPEC and filed a request statement that OPEC should open negotiations with the OHTU because OPEC established a new special pay-raise system, disregarding the progress made during previous negotiations between the two parties.
5. – In 2003, OPEC founded the “Research and Study Council relating to Teacher Evaluation” (“Teacher Evaluation Council”) and requested that the Teacher Evaluation Council examine what a teacher evaluation should be. Although teachers are the objects of evaluation for the Teacher Evaluation Council, there are no teachers on the Council. Only a few meetings took place in 2004 and although the OHTU continued to request that OPEC open negotiations over teacher evaluations, OPEC did not comply.
6. – On 23 February 2005, OPEC proposed the “New Evaluation System for Teachers (Plan)-Trial Manual” (“Trial-Manual”) to the OHTU. In response to this proposal, the OHTU filed a request statement to OPEC demanding negotiations and the withdrawal of the Trial Manual. One short discussion took place but OPEC did not adopt a single proposition of the OHTU and adopted the plan for the Trial Manual in its original form.
7. 122. Concerning the impartiality of the Okayama Prefectural Personnel Commission (“OPPC”), the OHTU stated that a certain degree of progress can be seen in the contents of the reports issued by the personnel commission. However, its impartiality has not been fully secured. For example, in 2004 the OPPC failed to issue recommendations on wage improvement, and this failure is deemed to be a waiver of its role of recommendation of “showing the appropriate wage level as it should be” like OPPC mentioned itself.
8. 123. The Committee notes the information communicated by the OHTU. Noting with regret that, in spite of several requests to that effect, the Government has not provided its observations on the complainant’s additional information and had not kept it informed of measures taken to implement its previous recommendations [see 329th Report, paras. 67-72], the Committee requests once again the Government to do so in the near future, and to keep it informed of the measures taken to encourage and promote the development of collective bargaining machinery for public school teachers.