Osaka English teachers stage sit-in
The OFSET Union has held a sit-in to protest education budget cuts and a reduction of their monthly salary:
After submitting the letter shortly before 4 p.m., the Osaka Fu Special English Teachers Union, which comprises 20 of 34 native English teachers employed by the prefectural government, began a 24-hour sit-in at Osaka Castle Park in Osaka to protest the plan by the Osaka Prefectural Board of Education to cut their monthly salary of 303,000 yen by 4 percent from August.
The teachers have not received a pay raise since 1996.
“If the government has 300 million yen to spend for Midosuji Ave.’s ‘light up’ project, it should spend the money on education,” said Steven Thompson, general secretary of the union.
Osaka Prefecture is nearly bankrupt, and the OFSET union has been fighting hard to save the jobs of its teachers since budget cuts began earlier this year.
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