Unions stage day of action in protest against companies’ refusal to increase wages

Japan Press Weekly

Japan Press Service Co., Ltd. is the only news agency providing information of progressive, democratic movements in Japan

Unions stage day of action in protest against companies’ refusal to increase wages

About 210,000 union members throughout Japan on March 18 took part in a day of action in protest against employers’ refusal to implement a wage increase.

This action was called by the National Confederation of Trade Unions (Zenroren) and the Joint Committee for the People’s Spring Struggle.

On the previous day, most companies provided their answers to unions’ demands for a wage hike. In their reply, employers only accepted automatic pay raises under the seniority-based wage system without offering a pay-scale increase.

Union members took to the streets calling on large companies to use their internal reserves for a wage increase and job security, and provide full-time positions and equal treatment to non-regular workers.

In protest against the decision of “zero base wage increase” offers from NTT (Nippon Telegram and Telephone) group companies, the Zenroren-affiliated NTT workers’ union staged a one-hour walkout in the morning at about 160 workshops across the country with about 430 participants.

In Tokyo, about 100 NTT union members and their supporters held a rally in front of the head office of NTT. A participant angrily said, “We have no wage increase because of NTT’s refusal of implementing a wage increase. It is unacceptable since NTT accumulated a huge amount of profits as internal reserves.”

About 200 members of postal workers’ unions, including the Zenroren member union Postal Industry Workers’ Union (Yusanro), jointly assembled in front of the head office of Japan Post, demanding full-time positions and equal treatment for non-regular workers at the Japan Post Group.

Yusanro Chair Yamazaki Kiyoshi stated, “64% of 172,000 contingent workers at the Japan Post Group earn less than 2 million yen annually. The Japan Post Group must provide full-time positions to them.”

- Akahata, March 19, 2010