Japan Press Weekly

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2016 January 20 - 26 [LABOR]

Keidanren in wage negotiation guidelines takes hostile stance toward elimination of wage gaps

The Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren) on January 19 published an annual report by the Committee on Management and Labor Policy, also known as the business sector’s guideline for the annual spring wage negotiations. The report reveals Keidanren’s hostile view toward eliminating wage gaps between large corporations and smaller corporations as well as between regular workers and non-regular workers.

Nippon Keidanren in its report explained that as a basic stance toward 2016 labor-management talks on wage hikes, it will call on its member companies to have a proactive consideration in regard to an increase in workers’ monthly earnings in excess of last year’s pay hike results. However, Keidanren stated that this stance will be applied only to corporations enjoying an earnings growth and that a monthly pay hike is just one option.

Additionally, the Keidanren report proposes various ways other than an across-the-board basic wage hike to raise the annual income base such as implementation of scheduled pay raises and an increase in seasonal bonuses.

In the report, Keidanren casts a hostile eye on the demand of unions at smaller companies for monthly wages to be increased by at least 15,000 yen in order to narrow the pay gaps between workers at large corporations and those at smaller corporations, saying, “Such a demand appears to be unconvincing.” Regarding the issue of improving non-regular workers’ working conditions which are poorer than that of regular workers, Keidanren stated, “This matter should be discussed from the perspective of overall labor costs.”

Regarding growing corporate internal reserves, Japan’s biggest business lobbying organization showed its refusal to use them to increase workers’ wages by stating that such retained funds should be used to strengthen corporate competitiveness and growth. This, as a result, will lead to providing better working conditions to workers, Keidanren concludes.

Keidanren strongly calls for the introduction of a “zero overtime payment system” through a further relaxation of the Labor Standards Act.

Past related article:
> Demanding pay raise, union workers surround bldg. of biggest business lobby [January 14, 2016]