Japan Press Weekly

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2019 January 23 - 29 [LABOR]

National trade union centers criticize Keidanren for taking hostile stance toward wage hike demand

The National Confederation of Trade Unions (Zenroren) and the Japanese Trade Union Confederation (JTUC-Rengo) on January 22 published their comments regarding the 2019 report on labor and management policy by the Japan Business Federation (Keidanren) which outlines the business circle’s strategy toward this year’s spring wage talks.

Zenroren issued a statement in the name of its Secretary General Nomura Hiroyuki.

In the statement, Nomura criticized the Keidanren report for taking a hostile attitude toward a basic wage hike and instead making a proposal to curb wages by using a tactic under which pay raises will be carried out on an annual income basis through such measures as an increase in seasonal bonuses. He continued to point out that Keidanren in the report justified a decline in real wages by using the wage gap between big businesses and smaller businesses and intended to impose excessively long working hours and heavy work burdens on workers under the name of “work-style reform”.

The Zenroren statement states that in order to win a meaningful wage hike for all workers, it is also necessary to provide adequate unit prices and financial support to smaller companies. Zenroren in the statement called for creating a society where everyone can have a decent quality of life with an eight-hour work day. To achieve this, Zenroren expressed its determination to make its utmost effort at workplaces and at the grassroots level to push large corporations to fulfill their social responsibility.

Rengo in its comment blamed Keidanren for laying the groundwork for continued deflation with its hostility to Rengo’s demand for a basic wage hike, emphasizing the importance of increasing monthly base wages.

Rengo also pointed out that Keidanren sticks to its support of the introduction of a “highly professional work” system (so-called a “zero-overtime payment” system) and shows unwillingness to decrease the gaps between large corporations and small corporations.

Past related articles:
> Unions declare start of 2018 Spring Struggle for 20,000-yen monthly wage hike [January 18 &19, 2018]
> Keidanren sticks to its collapsed policy regarding wage increase [January 19, 2017]