This article is old enough to be of archival interest rather than news but
it may provide some useful background information.


A translation of the article in the Kumanichinichi Shinbun on March 9, 2000
which can be found at:

http://www.kumanichi.co.jp/dnews/20000309/kiji1_0000001682.html
(the original article with photo)
.

"Refusal of Appointment Renewal is Discriminatory": PUK Foreign Teachers
file petition for preservation of employment status at the Kumamoto District
Court.

(Thanks to Kirk for helpful suggestions.)


Cynthia Worthington and Sandra Mitchell, employed as "Foreign Language
Teachers" at the PUK, filed a petition for an injunction to preserve their
jobs, claiming that the university's refusal to renew their appointments
amounted to dismissal. The two teachers are respectively the President and
the Vice-President of the union formed by foreign teachers at the
university, the Kumamoto General Union. According to the teachers' claim,
the union had asked for the reconsideration of the "Foreign Language
Teacher" system at the university because of the insecurity of the one-year
terms for "part-time, special employees". However, the university announced
that it was abolishing the system.
At the end of March last year, in the Kumamoto Regional Labour Commission,
both sides reached a settlement which provided for the continued employment
of both teachers until the end of March of this year. Even after that, a
Union spokesperson said that the Union had asked the University and the
Prefecture for regular (joukin), unlimited ppointments, not based on
nationality. However, the Prefecture and the University had not agreed to
talks on this matter.
The Union spokesperson said that while it was not possible to ask for more
than the continuation of present employment in the petition for the
injunction, the union really intended to address the problem of limited term
appointments for foreign teachers at the university, including the three
year limits [for foreign staff employed on regular contracts]. The Union
also intended to ask for an end to discrimination on the basis of
nationality.
After the filing of the petition, at a meeting of supporters of the teachers
at the Sangyo-bunka-kaikan (Industry and Culture Centre), participants said
that this situation was a typical example of discrimination against foreign
people but the Prefecture had no awareness of this.
A University spokesperson said that the question of the appointments which
end this year had been resolved by the settlement reached in March of last
year. The spokesperson said that he really could not understand the
petition.