JRU strongly condemns disciplinary dismissal of JRU7  by  JR East Company

 On Thursday, August 30, 2007, the East Japan Railway Company ( JR East Company)
ordered disciplinary dismissal of 6 members of the JRU7. (One of the JRU7 has left the company before the JR Urawa Train Depot case was built.) The company cited a cause as punitive dismissal as follows: “On July 17, 2007, the Tokyo District Court handed down a guilty verdict on JRU7 because their behavior toward the then employee of the company constituted a crime of coercion. Their behavior threw workplace into disorder, and made  company's credibility lost. Therefore JRU7 are ill-suited as employees of our company.”

This content of punishment is absolutely unreasonable. When and where on earth did they throw workplace in disorder and lose credibility of the company?  They just sincerely carried out union activity in order to protect solidarity in union. The JR Urawa Train Depot case was framed up by the Public Safety Bureau of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department from the beginning. The Police made up a coercion case from a rightful activity. It has been revealed through as many as 59 times of trials that the case was obviously cooked as a state policy in order to destroy JRU and JREU. Despite the fact that there was no coerce, the company forced “company punishment in the form of dismissal” on innocent workers.

JRU never tolerates the company making the most of police’s oppression and eliminating the existence and activity of the union. On July 17, 2007, JRU7 immediately appealed to a high court against the guilty verdict of the district court, and were braced to fight in the high court for acquittal. The case on trial should be considered in accordance with principle of “presumed innocent.” The United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights stipulates in the second paragraph of Article 14 as follows: “Everyone charged with a criminal offense shall have the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law.” The ILO also accepts this point of view.

The final decision on the high court has not been rendered. We express outrage over the company’s punishment in the form of dismissal and strongly demand to rescind it. We will continue fighting with JRU7 and exert every possible effort to support their families. We, JRU, call on workers over the world to fight against oppression that eradicates every union activity and workers’ rights amid ongoing violent neo-liberal globalization.

We, JRU, would continue to fight on with strong international solidarity

August 30, 2007

Japan Confederation of Railway Workers Unions