◇賃金格差是正を求め東京地裁に提訴しました

　学校法人桜丘では、担当授業時間数が同じであっても、専任教員と非常勤講師との間に約４倍（年齢によってはそれ以上）の年収格差があります。この格差是正を求め、当組合の組合員は、２０２５年８月１９日、学校法人桜丘を被告として、東京地方裁判所に損害賠償請求訴訟を提起しました。

　学校は教員にとって職場であり、当然のことながら労働関係法規の遵守が求められます。「労働契約法」（旧第２０条）および「パートタイム・有期雇用労働法」（第８条）は、有期雇用・短時間雇用の濫用的利用を抑制し、雇用の安定と格差是正を図ることを目的として整備されてきました。これらの法律および「同一労働同一賃金ガイドライン」は、業務の内容・責任の程度・配置変更の範囲などに照らして、不合理な待遇差を設けることを禁じています。

　非常勤講師も、日々の授業に加え、教材研究・教材作成、定期試験や小テストの作成・採点、ノートチェック、成績処理、生徒指導、進路相談など、多岐にわたる業務に従事しています。学級副担任業務に就くこともあれば、部活動の顧問に名前を入れられることもあります。他方、専任教員のなかには長年にわたり担任業務を担わない者もおり、両者の業務内容や責任の差は、雇用形態によって一律に線を引けるものではありません。

　それにもかかわらず、給与制度上、非常勤講師の月給は担当授業時間（コマ数）に応じて算定されるのみで、それ以外の多岐にわたる業務に対する明確な対価が制度上組み込まれていません。約４倍にものぼる待遇差を正当化するに足る業務内容・責任の差異が客観的・具体的に存在するのか、そして給与の決定基準・ルール自体の相違が合理的といえるのかが、本訴訟で問われています。

　また、学校法人桜丘では、勤続２０年を超える非常勤講師も在籍しており、校内の非常勤講師の比率は約５割にのぼります。これは、非常勤講師が「臨時的雇用」としてではなく、長期雇用を前提に活用されている実態を示すものです。それにもかかわらず、生徒数の減少等を理由とする一方的な不利益変更がなされることもあり、非常勤講師は不安定な立場に置かれ続けています。

　専門職としての教員が職務上の自律性を発揮できる労働環境を整備することは、「教員の教育の自由」と「教育活動の民主化」を支える基盤でもあります。雇用形態を理由とした待遇格差は重要な人権問題であり、公教育の場としての子どもたちの学び舎を守ることにもつながる課題です。

　本件訴訟と、職場環境の改善に向けた取り組みへのご理解と、署名へのご協力を心よりお願い申し上げます。

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東京地裁への提訴にあたって行った記者会見を、弁護士.JPさんに報じて頂いています。こちらもぜひご一読ください。
https://www.ben54.jp/news/2589
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◇ Lawsuit Filed at the Tokyo District Court Seeking Redress of Wage Disparity

At Sakuragaoka Educational Institution, even when full-time and part-time teachers teach the same number of classes, there is an approximately fourfold disparity in annual income—and, depending on age, the gap can be even greater. Seeking to correct this disparity, members of our union filed a lawsuit for damages against Sakuragaoka Educational Institution with the Tokyo District Court on August 19, 2025.

Schools are workplaces for teachers and, as such, are naturally required to comply with labor and employment laws. Former Article 20 of the Labor Contract Act and Article 8 of the Part-Time and Fixed-Term Employment Act were established to curb the abusive use of fixed-term and part-time employment, promote employment stability, and correct disparities in working conditions. These laws, together with the Guidelines on Equal Pay for Equal Work, prohibit unreasonable differences in treatment in light of such factors as the nature of the work performed, the degree of responsibility involved, and the scope of possible changes in duties or assignments.

In addition to teaching their daily classes, part-time teachers perform a wide range of duties, including researching and preparing teaching materials, creating and grading regular examinations and quizzes, checking students’ notebooks, processing grades, providing student guidance, and offering academic and career counseling. They may also serve as assistant homeroom teachers or have their names listed as advisers to extracurricular clubs. At the same time, some full-time teachers have not served as homeroom teachers for many years. The differences in duties and responsibilities between the two groups cannot therefore be uniformly defined solely by employment status.

Nevertheless, under the current pay system, part-time teachers’ monthly salaries are calculated only according to the number of classes they teach. The system does not provide clearly defined compensation for the many other duties they perform. This lawsuit therefore asks whether there are objective and specific differences in duties and responsibilities sufficient to justify a pay gap of approximately four to one, and whether the differences in the standards and rules used to determine salaries can reasonably be justified.

Sakuragaoka Educational Institution also employs part-time teachers who have worked at the school for more than twenty years, and part-time teachers account for approximately half of the teaching staff. This demonstrates that part-time teachers are not being used merely as temporary workers, but are employed on the assumption that they will continue working over the long term. Despite this reality, they remain in an unstable position and may be subjected to unilateral and disadvantageous changes in working conditions, sometimes on grounds such as declining student enrollment.

Creating a working environment in which teachers, as professionals, can exercise autonomy in carrying out their duties also provides an essential foundation for teachers’ freedom in education and the democratization of educational practice. Disparities in treatment based on employment status constitute a serious human rights issue. Addressing them is also essential to protecting schools as places of public education where children learn and grow.

We sincerely ask for your understanding of this lawsuit and our efforts to improve the working environment, as well as your support by signing this petition.　

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A press conference held on the occasion of filing the lawsuit at the Tokyo District Court has been reported by Bengoshi.JP. We hope you will also read the article.
https://www.ben54.jp/news/2589

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