Freeter Zenpan Rodo Kumiai (Precariat Union) visited German Embassy in Tokyo

On Feb 15, Freeter Zenpan Rodo Kumiai (Precariat Union) visited German Embassy for solidarity with Freie Arbeiterinnen- und Arbeiter-Union (FAU). Workers of Cinema Babylon, a theater located in the site of Berlin International Film Festival(The Berlinale),have been under unstable conditions. They are irregular workers with no labor contract. They only received wages of only 5-8.5€ per hour with no paid holidays, no wages for overtime works. On Jan, 2009, one worker was fired unfairly, so most of the workers joined FAU and demanded collective bargaining to their company, Neue Babylon. As Neue Babylon denied this demand, FAU launched the labor dispute to demand that non-regular workers should receive livable wages and basic labor rights guaranteed by the law. On Dec, 2009, their direct action was determined to be illegal by the Berlin Regional Court for reason that they had no experience to achieve collective agreement.
Freeter Zenpan Rodo Kumiai received this news from FAU. They said;

"This is similar to what we do as an organization here in Tokyo, and for us a jail sentence is unthinkable. "

The statement of Freeter Zenpan Rodo Kumiai is as follows.

To whom it may concern,

We are the Freeter Zenppan Rodo Kumiai, a volunteer and worker run general union located in Shinjuku, Tokyo. We are open to all individuals, including workers without regular contracts.

We have recently received news from a labor union in Berlin, the Freie Arbeiterrinnen Union, that it has been banned by the Berlin Regional Court from calling itself a base union. (Basisgewerkschaft) If it were dare to do otherwise, it would face a fine of EUR250,000 or a prison sentence. This is truly a scandal.

This decision came during the dispute with Neue Babylon GmBH, which demanded that non-regular workers receive livable wages and basic labor rights guaranteed by law. This is similar to what we do as an organization here in Tokyo, and for us a jail sentence is unthinkable.

A labor union in dispute with a given company has certain rights and legal protections; it must be so for the democratic functioning of industrial relations. The Right to Association is a basic human right. These rights are based on the constitution of each country and international law, such as the jurisprudences of the ILO Freedom to Association Committee.

Germany has been for us a shining example of democracy. This court decision will be widely publicized here in Japan, and for us here a democracy without the freedom to form unions is not a democracy.

We urge that the the Federal Republic of Germany and the Berlin Regional Courts take this incident and its international repercussions very seriously.

We call on the Federal Republic of Germany to overturn this prohibition and to stop threatening the FAU Berlin with penalties when it publicly stands up for the interests and needs of its members.

If possible, we would like to speak with a representative of the German Embassy in person. We would like to explain from our concrete experiences how small and independent unions are vital to the democracy of any country.
We have a positive story to tell.

Your truly,

Freeter Zenppan Rodo Kumiai (Precariat Union)