Unreasonable Strike －Are You in Favour?

A strange incident happened ― regular announcers working for TBS, one of the biggest television stations in Japan, suddenly “disappeared” from the programs in which they usually participate and take a lively part. This is because they actually went on their 12-hour strike scheduled for Friday, March. 13, yesterday, demanding for wage increase. One has only to know the fact that it has never happened in Japan in the past ten years that announcers really implement their absence on the programs for strike, to be convinced that how surprising this event was. According to spokesman in TBS, this strike, being on time-limitation basis from at 12:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m., was carried out as the form of the spring labour offensive. The strike had serious influences on some popular TV programs in the station, like “Pinpon!”, “2 jicchao”, “Evening Five”, and “News23”, forcing those who are usually holding managerial positions or working as out-of-studio newscasters, to replace those absent and do their jobs instead.
Although carrying out strike itself is officially justified as a legitimate right, it is still regarded as almost unprecedented that TV programs are inconvenienced due to the implement of strike. Staff members working for other television stations, informed of this incident, reveal their being surprised one after another, saying: “I am aware that such kind of strike used to happen frequently, but never does recently. . . . It is a scandal,” “It’s amazing. Sadly due to our union being organized very weakly, there has not been, and never will be such a thing taking place in our station.”
In addition, at the beginning of each program, there was a casual introduction uttered by provisional announcers informing viewers of the usual ones' temporal absence, only referring to the mere fact, but not further explaining why they are not there, with the result that some confused phone calls demanding for the details rushed into the station.
I personally feel it’s completely absurd that announcers, usually masquerading as sensible, prudent, and well-mannered men, resort to such a desperate measure when it comes to their own life. Plus, it is said that payment for workers in TBS is on the top level compared to that in other companies. Given the current serious recession across Japan, no one seems to me to feel the slightest empathy with and to encourage himself into cheering up the “covetous” announcers.