Japan Press Weekly

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2008 March 12 - 18 [LABOR]

Union members take action throughout the country in protest against unacceptably small wage increase offers

About 270,000 union members on March 13 took part in strikes, demonstrations, and rallies in protest against the wage increase offers of the previous day, which they say are too small.

These activities were organized by the National Confederation of Trade Unions (Zenroren) and the 2008 People’s Spring Struggle Joint Committee.

Members of the All-Japan Metal and Information Machinery Workers’ Union (JMIU) in Tokyo, Osaka, Nagano, and Saitama prefectures went on strikes demanding a more substantial wage increase.

Three hundred JMIU members and supporters held a rally and later walked in demonstration through downtown Tokyo.

Kimura Shintaro, a young JMIU member wearing a headband with the word “unity”, said, “My salary has decreased due to the rising cost of living and increase in taxes. Together with the JMIU, I will fight to win a larger wage increase than that of last year.”

At 179 NTT offices throughout the country, 523 members of the Zenroren-affiliated Telecommunication Workers' Union went on a limited-hour strike in protest against NTT’s failure to offer the wage increase the union demanded.

In front of the NTT head office in Tokyo, about 150 NTT workers and their supporters held a rally holding banners that read “Anger”, “Wage increases for both full-time and contingent workers”, and “We refuse any zero-increase offers.”

In Tokyo’s Kanda district of publishers and related companies, 180 workers walked in demonstration chanting various slogans such as: “No labor law revision,” “We say no to structural reform causing economic inequality and poverty.”

This was organized by the Japan’s Mass Media Information & Culture (MIC), a joint organization of mass media workers’ unions and the Chiyoda Ward Spring Struggle Joint Committee that includes Zenroren-affiliated unions.

Calling for the protection of public services and no more unpaid overtime work, members of public sector unions from the early morning took to the streets and marched to the National Personnel Authority to make their demands heard by the government.
- Akahata, March 14, 2008