 Zenroren carries out regional actions for wage increase Calling for "a monthly wage hike of 10,000 yen; a minimum of 1,000 yen per hour to part-timers; and more jobs for young people," the National Confederation of Trade Unions (Zenroren) on February 23 carried out simultaneous actions at more than 1,000 locations. These actions are part of the annual Spring Labor Offensive marking its 50th anniversary. Carrying banners and placards, unionists waged street actions, including handbill deliveries in the morning, lunchtime demonstrations, petitions to local governments and employers' cooperative boards, and carried out lantern marches at night at some places. In front of the gates of Nissan Motors Co., Japan-IBM, Toshiba, and other large enterprises in Kanagawa Prefecture stood members of Kanagawa-Zenroren who shouted through loud speakers that these enterprises must return some of their benefits to the laborers and regional societies. They also handed out copies of Zenroren's unified petition which calls for a wage increase for all workers, including part-timers and laid-off workers. Handbills delivered at Kasumigaseki in Tokyo, where the head offices of major enterprises are concentrated read: "You can get a 10,000 yen monthly wage hike from just a small portion of enterprises' internal reserves." "For example," the handbill says, "it is possible for the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, with only 0.31 percent of its 2,474 billion yen internal reserves, and for Tokyo Electric Power Co., with only 0.25 percent of its 3,662 billion yen internal reserves to do so." At lunchtime, about 1,000 workers received and read the leaflets. (end) |