TOZA
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Toza Gaigo Gakuin closed all 16 branches in the Kanto region on April 11, 1998, and the remaining 18 schools in the Kansai region on April 22. The company initially declared bankruptcy on May 11, 1998 and it's headquarters were raided by the Tokyo Labor Standards Office on May 13th to search for evidence to substantiate teachers' complaints of unpaid wages. 150 TOZA employees attended General Union meetings at 2 locations on the day of the bankruptcy notice.
In the raid agents confiscated Toza's account books that could be used to calculate the total amount of unpaid wages. Toza president and founder Kisaburo Sato had disappeared nearly a month earlier forcing the labor office to consider asking for an arrest warrant for Sato unless he appeared for questioning. Approximately 40 language teachers had filed complaints with the LSO totaling 15 million yen. Alles was Toza's de facto sister firm in Osaka (kansai area) had formally filed for bankruptcy separately on May 12th.
Toza president Kisaburo Sato attempted to retract the bankruptcy filing on June 10th. 4,000 students who had paid tuition in advance were unable to continue their lessons, while 168 Alles employees, including 74 foreign teachers were left jobless. Lawyers administering the bankruptcy of Alles figured about 3,500 of the students were eligable to be covered by a relief plan offerec by ECC, Nova, and YMCA. However, only about half actually could take lessons because the three language chains limited the numbers of the students they accepted. The Toza chain was first established in Osaka in 1982 by Kisaburo Sato and Expanded to Tokyo. The management was divided in April 1997 into Alles and Toza, which operated 16 branches in the Kanto region. All the schools in both the Kanto and Kansai regions were closed in April.
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[edit] Analysis of the bankruptcy
[edit] Reports of the bankruptcy
- Toza shuts down its Kansai Wednesday, April 22, 1998
- Toza head withdraws bankruptcy claim Wednesday, June 10, 1998
- City raids defunct English school Toza Wednesday, May 13, 1998
- Toza students, creditors may be out of luck Friday, Oct. 2, 1998
- English-language schools offer Toza students seats Friday, July 3, 1998
Wednesday, May 13, 1998[1]
City raids defunct English school Toza
The former headquarters of the now-defunct language school Toza Gaigo Gakuin were raided Tuesday evening by the Tokyo Labor Standards Office to uncover evidence to back up teachers' complaints over unpaid wages. In the raid, agents confiscated Toza's account books, which would be used to calculate the total amount of unpaid wages, according to an office spokesman. Meanwhile, nothing has yet been heard of Toza founder Kisaburo Sato, who disappeared nearly a month ago. The labor office will have to ask for an arrest warrant for Sato unless he comes out for questioning, the spokesman said.
Some 40 language teachers have filed complaints with the office, with claims totaling 15 million yen, he said. The Tokyo-based English school chain suddenly ceased operations in mid-April due to apparent financial failures. Alles, Toza's de facto sister firm in Osaka, formally filed for bankruptcy on Tuesday.
[edit] Services
students are required to pay 15,000 yen to 20,000 yen for registration and 3,000 yen to 13,000 yen for textbooks and other learning materials to take classes at the new schools. Their train ad. posters featured Mr. Bean. Nobody was paid for the last three months of work there. I went to a labour relations board in Tokyo and filed a complaint about them. They gave me 70% of what Toza owed me.
[edit] Employment
One account of working at Toza:
- "I worked at TOZA for about two months just before it bit the dust. A lot of those teachers lost a helluva lot of money. For about 4 or 5 months before it went kaput, it was paying teachers 30 percent or 25 percent of their salaries. Of course there were promises of payment in full next month or whatever. When it folded many of the teachers were living in gaijin houses and complaining about eating nothing but Cup Noodles for weeks. I don't know how many of them could afford to hang around look for another job. About a month after TOZA went tits up, I got a phone call from the Tokyo Labor Board (every gaijin's dream come true!) asking me to come in to their Ikebukuro offices. After testifying against the owner of TOZA and signing and thumb printing a document I got 70 percent of the salary owed me. The things I saw on the last day of work at TOZA will never leave my memory: teachers carrying TV's, stereos, tape recorders, white boards, texts, and telephones out of the school. Using their keitais to call up their buddies with cars to help them grab stuff.
- I, being the fast thinker that I am, grabbed a nice big beer pitcher someone had left in the school ages ago. I worked at TOZA 10 years ago and it went down just like what we are seeing with NOVA. Exactly the same... I don't work at NOVA now. I left more than 3 years ago but I feel your pain. If you do quit now, you will be the last to receive any compensation. If you stay till the end, you will be the first to be compensated by the employment insurance people. The only problem here with NOVA is that if Saruhashi doesn't officially claim bankrupcy then everyone gets jack. I would imagine he would, but you never know. If he were to claim bankrupcy, his personal fortune may be at stake. And by not claiming, NOVA could just exist indefinately as a shell, with nothing but debt. Either way, it's not a pleasant situation for Nova people and students."
For the love of God, keep writing these actriles.
