  Workers have rights to share in corporate profits -- Akahata editorial, February 20 (excerpts)Polarized economies While large corporations have been making record high profits, the income of working households declined for six straight years, with the worsening job market in which only low-paid irregular jobs are increasing. However, Toyota Motor Corporation, marking its highest profit of 1.2 trillion yen, and most other major corporations proposed a zero wage increase. They are even planning new rounds of corporate restructuring, and wage cuts in the form of an end to the annual wage increase system. It is outrageous for these corporations to stir up the sense of crisis among workers when business performances are poor, and call for more profits at the expense of workers when high profits are earned. Such self-centered corporate behavior dampens personal consumption and moves the economy to further recession. Even a cabinet survey of the economy in 2004 points out that workers' salaries, which used to be correlated to corporate current account profits, have apparently turned to a reverse correlation since 1995, under which the total cash wage amount is held down despite high profits. Corporations have a social responsibility to return some of their enormous profits to the household sector. It should be noted that voices for wage increases are now widespread among workshops of large corporations and companies affiliated with the Japanese Trade Union Confederation (Rengo). Workers ask the question, "Why should we accept a zero wage increase when corporations are making record-high profits?" For the first time in the last four years, the Japanese Federation of Textile, Garment, Chemical, Distributive, and Allied Industry Workers Unions put forward a unified demand for a wage increase. Wage increase and equal treatment of all workers The National Confederation of Trade Unions (Zenroren) is calling for a base wage increase of over 10,000 yen for all workers and an increase of over 50 yen in the hourly wage of part-time workers. Rengo also calls for a base wage increase and narrowing the gaps between full-time and part-time workers. Internal reserves accumulated by corporations capitalized at 1 billion yen and over reach 188 trillion yen. Only 5 percent of these internal reserves will allow workers of large corporations to have their wages increased by 10,000 yen, subcontract unit prices to be increased, and wages of workers of related small- and medium-sized enterprises to be increased by 10,000 yen. The government must stop its plan to impose an extra 7 trillion yen burden on the people while people's incomes are declining, and order large corporations to divide up some of their profits with society to rehabilitate living conditions and improve the job market. (end) |