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Nippon Steel settles political discrimination wage dispute+(Japan Economic Newswire)OSAKA, Dec. 26_(Kyodo) _ Nippon Steel Corp. reached Monday a negotiated settlement with a group of five former workers who filed a damages suit against the major steelmaker, saying they were discriminated against in wages because they were communists, the plaintiffs said. The five joined Fuji Iron & Steel Co., one of predecessors to Nippon Steel, from 1956 to 1962. They later joined the Japanese Communist Party. Fuji merged with Yawata Iron & Steel Co. in 1970 to become Nippon Steel. According to the plaintiffs, the terms of settlement reached at the Osaka High Court include a provision that says Nippon Steel "will not engage in discrimination based on thought or creed and treat all employees fairly." The aggregate amount of settlement was "more than double" the 15.4 million yen in compensation set by the Kobe District Court's Himeji Branch in a March 2004 ruling that acknowledged the discrimination based on their political party affiliation, said the plaintiffs who were seeking a total of 78 million yen in damages. The plaintiffs called the settlement "an all-out victory," while Nippon Steel issued a comment that the company "intends to remain in compliance with the law and other rules as it has done in the past." |