In all of the reporting about Nova, I have noticed that no one has talked to Nova management or anyone else who might truly have inside information! What we're left with is a mish-mash of mostly what various English-speaking foreigners think might be happening.
In the absence of real information the General Union has been given a saintly aura they don't deserve. It's as if the union is the good guys and Nova is the villain in the black hat. In my 10 years at Nova, I have tried to join the union twice and was refused twice. It seems that I live in a remote area too far from the clubhouse. I hope that The Japan Times will stop quoting the union as if it is some kind of authority. It is simply a group of friends that got together to help themselves out.
It's time to look beyond Nova and its situation. It wouldn't be the first English-conversation to fail and it wouldn't be the last. There are many other schools in a similar boat and it's time to address the overall problem. The country needs a regulatory agency to set standards and monitor conditions for the protection of students, staff and teachers. It's obvious that the companies can't regulate themselves and small unions can't either.
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