Key Japan Labor Group to Seek Pay Scale Hike of 12,000 Yen or More

(The sixth paragraph should have read, “…17,000 yen…,” instead of as sent. A substitute story follows.) Key Japan Labor Group to Seek Pay Scale Hike of 12,000 Yen or More Tokyo, Nov. 26 (Jiji Press)–An umbrella body for labor unions in the automotive, electronics and other industries in Japan announced on Wednesday a policy for its member unions to ask for a pay scale hike of at least 12,000 yen per month in next year’s “shunto” spring labor-management wage negotiations. The Japan Council of Metalworkers’ Unions, or JCM, will demand the same level of pay scale hike as the amount sought last year, which was the highest since it moved to the current way of requesting pay scale hikes by specifying amounts. Despite concerns over impacts on corporate earnings from high U.S. tariffs, the JCM aims to realize wage increases above inflation by maintaining high levels in its requests. The council will formally adopt the plan at its consultation committee meeting to be held on Dec. 3. The JCM is composed of five different industry unions–the Confederation of Japan Automobile Workers’ Unions, the Japanese Electrical, Electronic and Information Union, the Japan Federation of Basic Industry Workers’ Unions, the Japanese Association of Metal, Machinery and Manufacturing Workers, or JAM, and the Japan Federation of Electric Wire Workers’ Unions. JAM plans to ask for a pay scale hike of at least 17,000 yen per month, which is a record high. Other unions will now draw up respective plans. In the 2025 shunto, the JCM secured responses exceeding the previous year’s results on average for its member unions, but recent real wages continue to go down due to price hikes. JCM head Akihiro Kaneko said, “We will obtain wage increases that exceed inflation at all costs.” The JCM will also work to correct salary disparities between large and small firms. The Japanese Trade Union Confederation, or Rengo, the central organization for labor unions, will formally decide a plan on Friday to request wage increases of 5 pct or more in next year’s shunto. To realize wage hikes, the central government on Tuesday held a meeting between Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and leaders from economic and labor circles. At the meeting, Takaichi asked the leaders for their cooperation for realizing wage increases comparable to the 5 pct levels achieved in shunto in the past two years. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]