Article 7 of the Trade Union Act lists four kinds of unfair labour practice. The first is disadvantageous treatment: dismissing, demoting, transferring, cutting the pay of or otherwise penalising a worker for being a union member, trying to join or form one, or doing proper union work. Making non-membership a condition of hiring, the so-called yellow-dog contract, falls in the same category. The second is refusing to bargain collectively without proper reason, which includes going through the motions without engaging. The third is controlling or interfering with a union, or funding its running costs. The fourth is penalising a worker for filing a complaint or giving evidence to a Labour Relations Commission.
The remedy is administrative rather than criminal. A union or an individual worker files a complaint with the prefectural Labour Relations Commission, a tripartite body of public, labour and employer members, within one year of the act. The commission can order reinstatement with back pay, order the employer to bargain in good faith, or order it to post or deliver a notice acknowledging the conduct. Either side can seek review at the Central Labour Relations Commission and then in the courts, which can stretch a case over years. Ignoring an order once it has become final carries penalties.
The refusal-to-bargain category is the one a small employer is most likely to meet, because an outside union that a single employee has joined can trigger it. Bargaining in good faith means attending, explaining the employer's position with reasons, and providing relevant information. It does not mean conceding.
The numbers are small but steady. In 2024 the prefectural commissions received 200 new complaints, down from 255 in 2023. Of those, 153, or 76.5%, involved outside unions that individuals join directly, and refusal to bargain was alleged in about three quarters of the private-sector cases.
What it means for a foreign employer
- Anyone authorised can create the problem. A regional manager who tells a Japanese employee that joining a union will hurt their career has handed the union a complaint.
- Bargaining needs a decision-maker in the room. Sending a representative with no authority and no Japanese, or answering only in writing from overseas, is a common route to a refusal-to-bargain finding.
- Orders can be public. A posted notice in the office, or a published commission decision, is a reputational cost on top of the remedy.
- Keep performance and union matters apart. Document performance concerns before any union involvement, so that later action is not read as retaliation.
Sources
- Trade Union Act, Articles 7, 19, 27, 27-12, 27-15, 28 and 32.
- Central Labour Relations Commission, outline of the unfair labour practice procedure.
- Central Labour Relations Commission, Annual Report of the Labour Relations Commissions 2024, chapter on unfair labour practice cases.