On April 26, 2010, Kokuro (National Railworkers’ Union) held its ad hoc conference at Shakai Bunka Kaikan (Social and Cultural Hall) in Tokyo and unanimously ratified the Japanese Government’s proposal for solution of the dismissal of 1,047 former railway workers, with the total settlement of approximately 20 billion yen. 100 Tosodan (struggle group) members and three bereaved family members with photos of the deceased (photo) participated in the conference. Mr. Takahashi, President of Kokuro, greeted, “The solution proposal is meaningful as our achievement after our quarter century-old struggle against discrimination against our union, although it is not necessarily perfect”. Four participants spoke in the conference all in favor of the proposal, and it was ratified smoothly. Many of the struggle group members suggested, “We simply feel relieved but the employment issue still remains”. Actually, many of guests for the conference called the proposal “insufficient” and “a pending matter still remaining”. The conference revealed that the issue of “employment in JR (Japanese Rail)” remained unresolved for the final solution, although the proposal was ratified. (Reported by M) Photo flash

Japantakaheims, 2010-05-18 12:32, Hit : 1,053