purser

Turbulent days ahead due to union 'spy files'

12/06/2007

The late novelist Motoki Uchida was an All Nippon Airways (ANA) pilot. In his book "Kicho kara anaunsu" (This is your captain speaking) from Shinchosha Publishing Co., Uchida stressed the importance of the chief purser.

The person in the post is responsible for overseeing the entire cabin crew. "If the chief purser is competent, the pilot can operate the aircraft free of worries," he wrote. Uchida went on to say that if the chief purser is not competent and lacks leadership, the whole flight could become a strain.

The cabin and the cockpit; maintenance and operation; the ground staff and in-flight crew: If they work in unison, safe air travel is virtually guaranteed.

Meanwhile, about 200 Japan Airlines (JAL) cabin attendants have instituted a damages suit against the company and its biggest labor union. The cause of this was the discovery of "spy files" compiled secretly by the union.

The files contain personal information of about 10,000 employees. I was shocked by the content. Just to pick a few: "(She) is a flirt"; "loves mixed parties"; "had two miscarriages"; "takes her menstrual leave every month"; "fat"; "loves to drink"; "has a great figure." I must say this is more in the realm of tasteless gossip than personal information.

Some files contain comments that verge on what an investigator of people's thoughts and beliefs might write, while others divulged the subjects' medical histories and performance ratings, things that only their superiors could have been privy to.

JAL has disciplined 25 management personnel and others for passing on information to the union, but denied any organizational involvement.

There are eight JAL unions, and the one that is being sued is said to be pro-management. The union insists that the files are kept to facilitate consultations with members and for the recruitment of new members. I, however, suspect they were being used as management-labor ammunition for undermining other unions that stand up to the management. It is miserable indeed to work for a company where workers rat on one another.

I felt empathy for the plaintiffs in their cabin attendant uniforms handing out leaflets to passers-by, but the sight also made me a bit uneasy. Are these women performing their in-flight duties while nursing distrust for their superiors and colleagues?

How could the airline cause its staff, who are responsible for the safety of passengers, to worry about problems on the ground? Uchida, who took off for heaven a year ago, so to speak, must be lamenting this situation.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Dec. 1(IHT/Asahi: December 6,2007)