2013 January 16 - 22 TOP3 [
LABOR]
2013 spring struggle aims at wage hike of Y10,000 a month
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The People’s Spring Struggle Joint Committee, which consists of the National Confederation of Trade Unions (Zenroren) and other unions, has resolved to win a monthly pay increase of over 10,000 yen and an increase of over 100 yen in hourly wage for all workers in 2013 spring wage struggle.
The joint committee held a meeting of its member unions’ leaders on January 16 and adopted an action policy for the struggle.
Joint Committee Chair and Zenroren President Daikoku Sakuji in his speech stressed that a wage hike and job creation are the keys to recover from deflation. He also said that the joint committee will call on large corporations to raise their workers’ wages, pay higher rates to their subcontractors, provide their non-regular employees regular positions, and have a portion of their corporate internal reserves redistributed to workers and their families.
Zenroren Secretary General Odagawa Yoshikazu in his presentation of the action program said the committee will also strive to achieve a minimum wage hike and establishment of ordinances on fair public contracts.
The joint committee announced that it plans to hold a huge nationwide action on March 13 and 14.
In the discussion, a representative of the Japan Federation of Prefectural and Municipal Workers’ Unions (Jichiroren) criticized the Abe Cabinet for pushing local governments to cut their workers’ wages by threatening to slash local government block grants.
Representatives of the Japan Federation of Publishing Workers' Unions (syuppan-roren) and the Japan Federation of Commercial Broadcast Workers' Unions (Minpo-roren) said they will promote actions to have non-regular employees designated as regular employees and work to narrow the gap in their working conditions.
A representative of the Telecommunication Industry Workers' Union (Tsushin-roso) said that the union will organize a strike to stop NTT’s adverse revision of its pay system.