January 21, 2016

The Japan Research Institute of Labour Movement (Rodo-Soken) on January 20 published a proposal on the 2016 spring wage talks, saying that large corporations have enough financial power to offer a monthly pay increase of 60,000 yen.

The labor think tank, which conducts research activities in collaboration with the National Confederation of Trade Unions (Zenroren), in the proposal pointed out that companies with a capital of more than 10 million yen held a total of 543.1 trillion yen in corporate internal reserves as of 2014 and the amount of the amassed money grew by 34.8 trillion yen in 2015. The research institute argued that by using the 34.8 trillion yen, these companies can provide a monthly pay raise of 59,584 yen to their employees.

Rodo-Soken also pointed out that after Prime Minister Abe Shinzo set forth his “Abenomics” economic policies in 2012, prices increased more relative to wage increases and are expected to keep rising this year and the government posed additional financial burdens on workers through cuts in social welfare programs. In order to offset the effects of the anti-people policies, the research institute stressed, workers need to win a pay raise of 6.13% or 19,224 yen per month.

At a press conference held in Tokyo on the same day, Rodo-Soken researcher Kiji Takayuki said that workers’ real wages decreased by 4.8% after the Abe government was inaugurated. He stressed that workers need a pay raise which is sufficient to counterbalance the 4.8% decrease in real wages and that companies can offer the needed pay raise by using only a small part of the corporate internal reserves they accumulated last year.

Past related article:
> Large corporations’ internal reserves hit record high under ‘Abenomics’ [September 3 and 4, 2015]