Recently I have recieved some questions about rights of women in the workplace, specifically rights concerning pregnancy. Hopefully, this information can act as a starting point for anyone who has similar questions.
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THIS FOREIGN LAND
Assistant language teachers in trying times

By KANAKO TAKAHARA
Staff writer
Last of four parts

In November, Samantha Bouton, an assistant language teacher working at a public elementary school in the rural town of Shibayama, Chiba Prefecture, had a fever of 38.5 degrees and was diagnosed as suffering bronchitis.

Because of her illness, Bouton, a 25-year-old U.S. native from Oregon who has been teaching in Japan’s public schools since 2004, had to take leave for two weeks.

But her employer, Interac, a temp staff dispatch agency and leading provider of ALTs in Japan, told her she had already used up her seven days of annual paid leave — less than the 12 days she is entitled to under labor law — to cover the days she was sick.

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There are times in one’s life when, confronted with gross misrepresentations of facts and statistics on a particular matter close to your own heart, that you must either speak up against said falsehoods or leave the conversation altogether.

In May of of 2007, I was faced with one a pack of lies/mistruths about health insurance in Japan and the General Union that led me to a decision. That decision being that I simply could not and would not tolerate certain statements going unCORRECTED.

Yes friends, this is a three part story of a the first correction, by yours verily, The Corrector.
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I found some information about insurance on Gaijinpot that I thought I would share.

“Out of the chaos caused by the demise of Nova, caring companies and individuals are offering their services to all ex-Nova teachers.
InterGlobal Japan - Health Insurance
Notice to all ex-Nova teachers that were enrolled with the JMA insurance policies. Due to the JMA notice that all JMA policies have been CANCELED OCT. 31, 2007, InterGlobal will be offering a 10% DISCOUNT for ex-Nova teachers that require coverage. For information on the plans available visit www.globalhealth.jp.
If you were a JMA-InterGlobal member, please contact InterGlobal Japan.
(Phone: 0120-76-7703 - Email: igj@interglobal.co.jp)”

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Many of you may have seen this before through the original link on Let’s Japan earlier this year, but I wanted to highlight the story here as well. This report aired on NHK on June 30th, 2007. The first part covers a bit of NOVA (old NOVA that is, not neo/G.Communications/NOVA), and then the second part covers the hardships of some awesome people working as teachers in Chiba under the strangling gauntlet of Interac…

Use these face pieces to play the 福笑い（ふくわらい - fuku warai）game on the 1-7 lesson (page 27) or any time you want to teach about body parts or directions (up, down, left, right or go).

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Here is the question:
Are you enrolled in unemployment insurance?

With the recent fall of NOVA and the stranding of many good teachers, most of which have gone weeks or months without pay, we should all turn our attention to something ELSE that we should all have: unemployment insurance, or 雇用保険 (Koyoh Hoken).
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We are taking a survey amoung our fellow Interac/Maxceed employees (this survey is not limited to Union Members). Here is the question:
Do you have Nenkyu (paid, flexible holidays?)
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Recently, some NOVA teachers were paid (very late) wages, but ONLY because they went to the Labour Standards Office WITH the Union, who brought cameras.
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A recent blog post from Japanese activist Arudou Debito brought to light from recent events with NOVA and other problems. The full article link is listed below…

…I encourage everyone in Japan who is NJ to join a union. I have. Lose the allergy and the visions of George Meany and Jimmy Hoffa, and realize it’s the only recourse you have in Japan to get your labor rights enforced. All other measures, as I have written in the past, be they the courts, the ministries, even the laws as written themselves, will not help you in a labor dispute. Especially if you are a NJ. Labor rights have been severely weakened over the past two decades, and the sooner you understand that and take appropriate measures, the more secure life you’re going to have in Japan.

Arudou Debito in Sapporo

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Here is our first submission, for lessons Year 1 lesson 3 or 4, or any lesson teaching numbers:
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Knowing that teachers had their lunch break from 12:00 to 1:00 the assembled members were in time to make sure we could talk to everyone present. Twelve o’clock passed and nothing stirred, not even a mouse. Then 12:05, 12:10, and finally at 12:15 one teacher was sent down to check what we were doing; we could already see the assembly of Interac managers watching us from the balcony.
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