  Corporate intent to control workers through performance-based wage system goes bankrupt -- Akahata editorial, November 1Books blaming the performance-based wage system for its inconsistency are very popular. It is because the system that was feverishly introduced by corporations without close examination is now going bankrupt. The so-called "performance-based wage system" makes it a rule that workers job performances are reflected in their wages, so that all their efforts are duly rewarded. The system is now bankrupt because it involves a major contradiction. Work in a workplace involves various jobs and many people, and it is difficult to give ratings to every worker's performance. It is like ranking the players in a tug of war. Norms for ratings and the results cannot but be ambiguous. Total wage cost cut eyed Actually, workers are given arbitrary and unjust ratings. Wages increases go to a limited few, and no-raises or wage cuts are given to a majority of workers despite their efforts. The feeling of being unjustly rated had led to an increase in discontent among workers. This is expressed in a survey by the Japan Institute of Labor Policy and Training in which only 10 percent of respondents said that their satisfaction with their ratings under the performance-based wage system "increased," while 30 percent said their satisfaction "declined." It stands to reason that many workers are calling for the standards of assessment and the results to be made public. The corporate motivation behind introducing the performance-based wage system is to cut the total wage cost by driving workers into a competition for a greater share in a smaller pie. It is a mechanism to drive workers into a race so that they spur themselves into obtaining better results than others, since the system of regular wage increases according to age and experience has been abolished. It is also a mechanism to drive workers into overtime work without pay. Under this system workers are isolated, segmented, and are unable to unite, with unions becoming weaker than ever. It is unacceptable that this corporate behavior is endangering the livelihood of workers and their families, and weakening trade unions. We cannot overlook various adverse effects of the performance-based wage system. Some corporations that introduced this system aiming at "immediate profits" without trying to create a system that sustains long-term profits have began reviewing or ending the system. Now that fellow workers had to appear as competitors with each other at workshops, there are less chances to teach skills to others and train them, with more barriers for teamwork. Unless many workers' efforts for better jobs bear fruits, their enthusiasm for work will decrease. Asked in a survey about work morale after the "performance-based wage system" was introduced into workshops, 37% answered that it decreased, while 22% answered the opposite (nikkeibp.jp). Workers under the performance-based wage system have been suffering from heavy stress. The survey said that almost 40% of workers, including "myself and near-by fellow workers," have experienced depression. Harmed emotional as well as physical health will rob the workers of their ability and decrease labor productivity. Major corporations have been enjoying ever high profits, and yet are urging workers to endure unstable labor conditions under which no one can know how much annual income they will get. Such a way of doing things will just help suppress personal consumption and curb Japan's economic recovery. There is no future for the "performance-based wage system." It can be noted that resistance to this system has appeared in some of these workshops. When a corporate proposal to "reinforce the 'capability/performance-based wage system' was put to vote at a metal firm, nearly half of the member of a union affiliated with the Japanese Trade Union Confederation (Rengo) voted against. The failure of the wage system is creating new conditions for workers to take a new offensive. Make living conditions more stable and better Now that workers' living conditions are being aggravated, it is the minimum demand for them to call for "wages sustainable for humane living." It is a social responsibility for major corporations to increase the minimum wage standards for all workers and establish a wage system that will reasonably reflect each worker's level of skill and specialty so that their daily lives will be stabilized and improved. (end) |