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Negotiations Begin with TELUS International AI Japan
2022-09-12—Tokyo
General Union held collective bargaining with the Japanese branch of the Canadian tech company TELUS International in late August. Workers’ demands centered on laggy support from the global company’s regional human resources department, based in South Korea.
The issue had become a source of frustration and close shaves with immigration authorities as well as other government bodies. Determined to push for improvements, workers reached out to General Union. After receiving a consultation from the union, a handful of workers decided to join together. Since then, they have reached out to coworkers and have been met with interest and support.
General Secretary Dennis Tesolat and Vice Chair Fred Henley were joined by two branch members to meet TELUS’ human resources manager and their lawyer. The meeting plodded along amicably but stuttered as the company declined to articulate upon its hesitance to enter into standard agreements with the union, such as a grievance procedure that could hopefully make problem solving smoother in the future.
Ultimately the engagement – the first of many to come – saw some progress and showed promise for positive developments in the future. For their part, TELUS promised to invigorate support structures in place for Japan-based workers. Our members eagerly await the much-needed improvements and look forward to the next round of collective bargaining.
General Union works to resolve issues as big as unfair dismissals, harassment, and other illegal practices as well as issues as mundane as payroll transparency and unclear internal communication channels. If you have any problem or annoyance at your workplace, we may be able to offer you solutions or useful advice. Send us a consultation request HERE.