Tokyo Disney Resort Workers Seek Help From Union to Get Paid Through Coronavirus (COVID-19) Closure

Jessica Figueroa

Tokyo Disney Resort Workers Seek Help From Union to Get Paid Through Coronavirus (COVID-19) Closure

Jessica Figueroa

Tokyo Disney Resort Workers Seek Help From Union to Get Paid Through Coronavirus (COVID-19) Closure

Toyko Disneyland has been closed since February 29 due to Coronavirus (COVID-19) concerns in the region, and with their closure period recently extended from mid-March to early April, some of the Cast Members are struggling to stay afloat due to insufficient wages for certain part-time workers.

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According to The Japan Times, a labor union for “nonregular” workers is pressing to have Tokyo Disney Resort continue paying the entirety of its staff while the parks remain closed:

The union said the workers were told by the operator Oriental Land Co. before the closure that shift schedules had been canceled. It said it remained unknown whether they would be paid for the period they cannot work.

Oriental Land, based in Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture, has about 20,000 workers and about 18,000 of them are nonregular workers, according to the union’s website.

The union said the company paid salaries at 60 percent of basic hourly pay during a past closure and did not provide other benefits. Pointing out that the level is the minimum stated in the labor standards law, it has called for wages to be paid in full.

Oriental Land acknowledged receiving the letter of request from the union but said it had already explained about compensation for the period of closure.

A Tokyo Disney Resort official stated that they will “again deal with the matter based on our rules.”

The Japan Times interviewed a 30-year-old female part-time worker at Tokyo Disneyland whose monthly wages had averaged Â¥140,000 ($1,300) to Â¥150,000, plus whatever she earned working overtime. Due to salary cuts, she’d be only getting half of that amount during the closure after tax deductions.

Tokyo Disney Resort is set to reopen in early April, with its ongoing New Fantasyland now delayed through mid-May.