Risk management/Disaster preparation
You don't have to be a pessimist to think that Tokyo fits pretty closely the definition of "a disaster waiting to happen". Most responsible corporate citizens are aware of this fact, and take steps to ensure that their employees get regular training in emergency procedures. Berlitz, too, has developed (at the union's request) a manual on Risk Management, which should be posted in the LC. If you haven't seen it, please ask your IS or LCM. There are many good recommendations in this manual, including things that the union has been asking for all year, such as regular fire drills, and training to make sure all staff know how to get out of the building,etc.

The only problem, though, is that no one seems to have given any thought to implementation. If we are to prepare for a disaster that could happen at the workplace during working hours, then it makes sense that the preparation should also happen at the workplace, during working hours. The union is demanding paid methods for all staff to participate in drills and familiarize themselves with emergency procedures. Management has yet to come up with a concrete plan, but, in the meantime, all members are urged to bring this up with local management at their next staff meeting. As the manual itself warns, there is not much point reading it for the first time during a quake.

B.E Prepared
As all English teachers know, BE 5-8 can be extremely difficult to teach, and sometimes next to impossible if you don't happen to have an MBA , MEd, or both. In spite of this, management has so far been allowing teachers in some LC's to go into classrooms with no chance of looking over the material beforehand, with the result that students, instead of receiving a well-prepared, professional lesson, get to sit by while the teacher basically trains himself/herself to use the material.

The union brought this to the attention of management, and demanded that teachers be paid for the time necessary to prepare for lessons. Management at first expressed reluctance, claiming that Berlitz has traditionally paid prep time only for actual physical preparation - making photocopies for TOEIC classes, or collecting cards for kids' classes, etc. - and that preparation such as reading the manual was considered "familiarization" with the text, and had never been paid. The union doesn't particularly care what it is called - preparation, familiarization, whatever - but, if it means that the employee is spending time looking at a BE text instead of relaxing with a cup of coffee/having a smoke/reading the latest union update, it is WORK and must be paid. Management conceded that the matter of preparation needed to be reconsidered, and has promised a response this week. We look forward to a solution to this problem which has already gone on too long.

The Incredible Shrinking Teachers' Room
"Creating a comfortable workspace is an important part of any business. ... Large attractive rooms furnished with comfortable chairs and personal belongings...encourage feelings of pleasure, ambition and a desire to be an effective member of the workforce."

Ahh, good old MAE! Before the text goes entirely by the wayside, however, it would be worthwhile considering the jarring contrast between the wisdom of the passage above, and the actual conditions in which Berltiz employees are expected to work.

Since Berlitz announced plans to renovate several large LC's, and to close floors in some locations, teachers have naturally been concerned about the size of the teachers' rooms in the new layouts. The union brought up the matter of the decreasing size of teachers' rooms in new LC's during this year's shunto negotiations, and management responded that, while nothing could be done about existing schools (the closet-sized teachers' room at Shimbashi, for example), they would make changes in the design for new LC's.

Unfortunately that promise does not appear to have been kept in at least one redesigned LC, where a staff of nine is now forced to make do with seating for three (four at most, if you pretend to be riding the Chuo line at rush hour). A recent peek into the school revealed three teachers sitting in the teachers room, three sitting in the hall, and two wandering. Quite a difference from the previous layout which had two teachers' rooms, measuring 315x320cm, and 280x475cm, while the current space is a mere 234x305 - smaller than either of the two previous rooms. How teachers are expected to prepare for lessons while wandering the halls is a mystery to which HQ has yet to provide an answer.

Again, the union sees this situation as a result of the misguided expansion plan, and has requested some evidence from HR to support the decision to downsize the old schools rather than simply closing the new ones.
Refusal to share that evidence demonstrates once again the lack of a sincere commitment to transparency on the part of Berlitz management.

Shake it up baby

For all of you out there who were jostled out of bed this morning by shock waves from the earthquake in Wakayama, I would like to remind you that Berlitz has, at long last, in response to union demands, come up with Health and Safety procedures to deal with emergency situations. Among the procedures outlined is training in how to escape from the building, and how to lead customers out. So far, only managers have been given this training. The union has asked HR whether or not all employees will have a chance to participate in some kind of disaster preparation practice, but have not received a clear response. For obvious reasons, we believe that such training is urgently needed; please join us in demanding that HR demonstrate their concern for our safety by providing PAID training to all employees.

Power Harassment at Berlitz Japan
Union and HRD representatives met at BJHQ on Friday, September 3, in collective bargaining session to discuss the growing need for a detailed, comprehensive power harassment policy. Recently, there has been an increase in cases involving the abuse or discriminatory treatment of teachers on the LC level. These include arbitrary assignment of lessons, irregular processing of complaints against teachers, and fanciful reprimands for trivial dress-code infractions. This harassment results in a hostile environment with grave consequences for the quality of instruction and the satisfaction in the work performed by our members. The Union demands the policy to regulate the actions of managers and supervisors and to direct the course of fact-finding procedures in case of any grievance.
Too often, offenses against teachers go unreported, or else uncorrected when they are brought to the attention of the HRD, to the detriment of all. Due to the too-rapid expansion of LCs, inexperienced and manifestly ill-trained teachers are promoted to supervisory positions which require qualifications and skills with which they have not been provided by management. While we recognize the integrity and intelligence of the majority of supervisors, the failure of management to provide necessary and sufficient training has resulted in disruptions and discord in the LCs. To date, the Union has found Berlitz Japan derelict in its responsibility to provide and maintain a well-ordered environment for the teachers, and to protect them from the egregious treatment of a minority of supervisors and managers.
The subject of the current talks is the sequence of events at a suburban LC where, the Union maintains, supervisors subjected Union members to abusive and discriminatory treatment over an extended period. HRD was informed of these incidents at the time, but made no suitable nor timely response to correct these actions. In this initial collective bargaining session, the Union presented a 37-page document comprised largely of unanswered letters and reports concerning the actions of these supervisors to the HRD. In subsequent sessions, the Union will record management's considered response to these events. Members should document cases of discrimination or abuse and notify their Steward or Executive Committee of any incidents.

Atsugi Action
BEGUNTO members leafletted on August 10 in front of Atsugi LC to show support for members being harassed by management at Shinjuku LC. Arbitrary and even imaginative application of the dress code (no white socks??) by local management is perhaps the reason why teachers there empathize so readily with their colleagues downtown.
Do local rules in your corner of Berlitz differ from what you were told at training? Or are they simply at variance with common sense? Join the union, and do something to improve your workplace!

Doing the Shinjuku shuffle!
Teachers employed at either Shinjuku-Nishi or the recently opened Shinjuku-Minami LC may find themselves scheduled to spend their 5-minute break racing along the streets between the two schools, which are separated by several blocks. Pretty hard to delight the customer when you are bathed in sweat, flipping through the textbook to find the right page. Surely University educated adults who have come so far to work wouldn't put up with these kinds of conditions? If you have any other examples of bizarre work conditions within your LC please send them along to begunto1@yahoo.com with your suggestions about what you are willing to do about them.