NUGW [Tokyo Nambu] boasts about 65 workplace branches, and it has 200 more members at companies without on-site branches. Approximately 20 percent of its 2,600 members are foreigners, and 80 percent of those are teachers; another 10 percent work for newspapers. NUGW [Tokyo Nambu], whose foreign members are mostly from Western countries, is one of the Tokyo area�s few general unions with a large non-Japanese representation. Others, such as Zentoitsu Workers Union and Kanagawa City Union, have significant Central Asian, African and Brazilian members. Both unions put a priority on such issues as workplace safety and help with visas.

�If there�s a union branch, members can choose demands and submit them to management,� Carlet says. �We can help individuals, but it�s much more difficult. We can collective-bargain, but management sees one person as [simply causing] a problem. Often we tell them to come back with one or two of their coworkers.�

http://metropolis.co.jp/tokyo/705/feature.asp

The labor union of scandal-tainted language school operator Nova Corp. filed a request with labor standards supervision authorities Thursday to order the company to pay wages in arrears to its foreign teachers, union officials said.

The industry giant, already embroiled in a scandal related to its fraudulent advertising practices, has failed to pay September wages, which were supposed to be delivered on the 15th, to its foreign teachers, except for those in urban areas such as Tokyo and Osaka, the officials said. Some 5,000 foreign teachers are registered with Nova nationwide.

Officials of Nova’s General Union also said the monthly salaries of its 2,000 Japanese employees were paid late nationwide in July and August.

Katsuji Yamahara, chairman of Nova’s general union, which includes foreign teachers, criticized Nova for failing to explain the reasons for the delayed salaries, calling the repeated practice “malicious.”

Yamahara told a news conference that Nova may have incurred about �10 billion in losses, pointing out that it failed to return tuition fees as scheduled to students who canceled their contracts.

He said the union will ask the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry � which regulates Nova and other English-language school operators � in October to extend assistance to the company so it can avoid bankruptcy.

An Australian citizen teaching for Nova said that because the company is still looking for teachers, he is worried foreigners may apply for jobs without knowing about the delayed paychecks.

The Osaka-based company has been seeing a drop in enrollment and a rise in cancellations since the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry ordered it to partially suspend operations in mid-June for deceiving consumers about its services in its advertisements.

On Sept. 20, it was reported that Nova is planning to close at least 200 of its roughly 900 school branches later this month in an effort to revamp its operations. Immediately after the news, the labor union demanded that the company proceed with caution to avoid any adverse effects on teachers and students as a result of the closures.

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20070928a7.html

A COMPANY that employs thousands of Australians in Japan is still recruiting English teachers in Sydney despite failing to pay its staff for more than 12 days.

Japanese language company Nova, which claims to have up to 5000 Australian employees, has yet to explain the delay in payments. Australian teachers say they fear eviction from their homes and some are refusing to work until they are paid.

The company�s Brisbane office said this morning some teachers had been paid, but trainers were yet to receive their money. They refused to comment on the reason for the delay.

Nova was plunged into financial crisis in mid-June, when the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry ordered the company to suspend part of its business for six months for lying to consumers about its services when soliciting students. In the wake of the scandal many students cancelled their enrolment and Nova was forced to provide generous refunds.

In Osaka this week, 50 foreign workers, including Australians, took to the streets in protest, demanding their pay and calling for the resignation of the company CEO Nozomu Sahashi. Many trainers stopped working in protest until their salary is paid.

Nova failed to pay its foreign workers on September 14. Six days later, the Sydney office held a live web chat recruiting more staff, encouraging potential teachers to apply for the 2008 recruitment program, but making no mention of the salary problems.

Nova told one candidate: “We will send a package of employment and visa documents to be completed to start the process of getting you to Japan!”

Similar chats were also held in Boston and San Francisco as recently as Monday 24th September, 10 days after it failed to pay staff on time.

Nova currently operates 900 schools in Japan, but sources say they plan to cut up to 200 schools, making hundreds of Australian staff redundant.

According to blog posts, teachers in Nova-managed accommodation have received eviction warnings over unpaid rent despite the fact the company was deducting rent money from employees� salaries.

The company�s financial problems have dominated expatriate web forums in Japan with many worried the company is about to go bankrupt.

“Still no pay for TIs. That’s 12 days late now and it doesn’t look like they’ll be paid today either … Looks like they really are going under,” wrote contributor �leathers� on the Japan Today forum.

“I don’t plan to work for free,” a 33-year-old Australian said.

“I’m sorry for the inconveniences caused to the students,” he said. “It’s too bad, because we want to keep the students at Nova. But the stress teachers are under, I think, is affecting the lesson quality.”

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22491114-662,00.html

A labor union will ask a governmental labor inspection office to demand troubled English school NOVA pay its teachers their delayed wages.

NOVA started to delay paying wages to its Japanese staff members in late July, and has been late paying its foreign teachers since Sept. 14, General Union officials said.

[Tokyo Nambu's sister union] the General Union in Osaka will formally ask the Osaka Chuo Labor Standard Inspection Office on Thursday to demand NOVA pay delayed salaries.

The union recently sent a letter to the president of NOVA and asked him to promptly pay staff wages. The letter demanded a reply by Sept. 26, but the company told the union to wait until Oct. 5 for an answer.

http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/national/news/20070927p2a00m0na002000c.html