…The General Union Interac Branch…

Interac Health Insurance MIS-information and The Birth of the Corrector:
Act five: The addendum

On May 24th, Dennis Tesolat sent a second jaw shattering email to our mailing list, and to our knowledge Interac has chosen to remain very cowardly silent, as is their standard operating procedure in such matters:

From: “Dennis Tesolat General Union” (tesolat at generalunion dot org)
Subject: Your health insurance
Date: Thu, 17 May 2007 12:50:58 +0900

Dear Interac teachers,

There has been some doubt cast upon the General Union’s information that all residents of Japan must be enrolled in either Shakai Hoken (enrolled by the employer and premiums are covered 50/50 by you and the company) which includes health and pension insurance, or Kokumin Kenko (health)/Nenkin (pension) insurance through your city.

Please look at the following government links regarding the issue and then ask Interac why their story is different:

From the Social Insurance Agency:
http://www.sia.go.jp/e/ss.html

From Osaka City:
http://www.ih-osaka.or.jp/enjoy/en/sick/02.html#midashi01

From Nishinomiya City:
http://www.nishi.or.jp/homepage/living_guide/pdf/en/en08-07-n.pdf

From Tsukuba City:
http://www.city.tsukuba.ibaraki.jp/hp/e_hp/guide/healthinsurance.html

From Hamamatsu City:
http://www.city.hamamatsu.shizuoka.jp/hamaEng/04_kenkouhoken_01.htm

These are just a few links. You can find more by typing ‘shakai hoken’ into Google.

Anyhow, there are many things that need to be resolved at Interac:
1. Direct employment for those currently being dispatched.
2. Lack of health, pension, and unemployment insurance for most teachers.
3. Problems using paid holidays which are guaranteed under the Labour Standards Law
4. Pay – meaning the number of hours you’re paid for versus the number of hours you have to stay at work.
5. Pay – during holiday periods.
6. Transportation – it varies too widely and some lose out.

If you are interested in any of these issues or have other questions or concerns, please contact the union at:
06-6352-9619
or at
* interac at general union dot org

We would also like to meet with Interac teachers regarding your joining the union and protecting your rights and improving your workplace. If you are interested in meeting we would like to set up a consultation day for Interac teachers. Just let us know when you’re free and we’ll get you together with your coworkers to talk about making a better Interac.

Please also see our website * http://interac.generalunion.org/

Sincerely,
Dennis Tesolat
General Secretary

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* Links have been changed to reflect the current contact information and the current site instead of extinct pages.