EXCLUSIVE: JAM to Demand 17,000 Yen or More in Pay Scale Hike

Tokyo, Nov. 17 (Jiji Press)–Executives of the Japanese Association of Metal, Machinery, and Manufacturing Workers, or JAM, plan to demand a pay scale hike of 17,000 yen or more a month in next year’s “shunto” labor-management negotiations, Jiji Press learned Monday. The request would be the highest ever. The association demanded a monthly base wage increase of at least 15,000 yen in the 2025 shunto. JAM, comprising mainly labor unions at small machinery and metal producers, aims to narrow the pay gaps with major companies and help member workers weather the impact of high prices. Its total wage hike demand in the 2026 shunto, including regular pay increases, will be 21,500 yen or more. The association plans to formalize its demand in January next year after a key two-day meeting from Nov. 30. JAM has some 390,000 member workers from some 2,000 unions. Although the association achieved certain results in this year’s shunto, the pay hike level fell short of that at major companies. The Japanese Trade Union Confederation, or Rengo, the national umbrella organization of labor unions, has set a benchmark of 5 pct or more for member unions’ demands for combined regular wage and pay scale rises under its basic plan for the 2026 shunto. Rengo called on unions at small businesses to aim for a pay hike of at least 18,000 yen by adding 1 pct or more to the benchmark set by the confederation. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]