A train driver in Japan whose employer cut his wages because of a one-minute delay will get his money back: the equivalent of 44 US cents, but he did not live to see his victory in court.
The district court in Okayama Prefecture ordered the accused railway operator West Japan Railway Company (JR West) on Tuesday to pay the driver, who died this year, ¥56, including lost overtime pay, the daily newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun reported.
The driver was supposed to take an empty train to a depot at Okayama station in 2020, but initially made a mistake on the platform.
This delayed the departure by one minute. As punishment, his wages were reduced by 43 yen. The driver took the matter to court.
The railway operator JR West had justified the pay cut with their strict working principle: "no work, no pay." The train driver had not worked during the mix-up, it said.
Psychological suffering
The plaintiff's side, on the other hand, argued that the one-minute delay complained of had very much been working time. Moreover, the train driver's mistake had not caused any disruption to the train timetable.
The driver had gone to court to claim the ¥43 he had been docked plus 13 yen in overtime pay - plus ¥2.2 million ($17,200) in damages for the psychological suffering caused by his employer's decision.
The bizarre legal dispute throws light on the legendary punctuality of Japanese railways, but also on Japan's not infrequently exploitative working world.
