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Japan Press Service Co., Ltd. is the only news agency providing information of progressive, democratic movements in Japan

2006 Spring Struggle will demand wage increase and prevent tax increase

The National Spring Struggle Joint Committee held its annual meeting on October 26 in Tokyo and decided that the major goal of the 2006 Spring Struggle should be to win a wage increase and prevent a tax increase.

The joint committee consists of the National Confederation of Trade Unions (Zenroren) and trade unions that are not affiliated with any national trade union center.

Kumagai Kanemichi, the committee's chair and Zenroren president, said that the average annual income of private sector workers in 2004 was 4.388 million yen, representing a decline almost to the level of the early 1990s.

Pointing to the widening gap between rich and poor, he said that the 2006 Spring Struggle should hold fast to the demand for wage increases and the defense of the Constitution and the people's living standards.

Iwata Yukio, the committee's secretary, proposed basic initiatives consisting of base-wage increases for all workers and an increase in the minimum wage, stable jobs for youth, the prevention of tax increase plans, and opposition to a national referendum bill and constitutional revision.

During the discussion, it was pointed out that there is a danger that agriculture and agricultural cooperatives can be the next target of privatization following the postal services. Issues discussed included pro-privatization advocates' attacks on government employees as a problem that should not be minimized because it will affect working conditions. -- Akahata, October 27, 2005