Japan Press Weekly

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2014 March 12 - 18 TOP3 [LABOR]

220,000 workers protest against timid corporate response to pay raise demand

More than 220,000 union workers rose nationwide on March 13 in protest against companies’ insincere responses to their pay raise demand in the ongoing spring labor offensive.

The focal point of this year’s spring wage negotiations is whether workers can achieve an increase in the basic wage. On March 12, many companies made their replies to unions. Almost all of those responses indicated no increase or just a small increase in base pay.

The following day, the People’s Spring Struggle Joint Committee, which consists of the National Confederation of Trade Unions (Zenroren) along with independent unions, took various actions at 250 locations across the country, including strikes.

More than 30,000 workers of about 410 locals of the Japan Federation of Medical Workers’ Unions (Iroren) joined in actions such as rallies at workplaces. Of them, 60 locals staged walkouts. At a private hospital in Tokyo’s Machida City, nurses in uniform submitted to the management a protest note against the “zero” answer, seeking increases in wages and the number of staff.

In Tokyo’s Tachikawa City, some 250 workers held a rally and a demonstration march in the strong wind and rain. Zenroren Vice President Takahashi Shin’ichi stressed in his speech that the point at issue in this spring labor offensive is whether workers at small- and medium-sized firms, who account for 70-80% of all workers in the nation, and non-regular employees making up 40% of all workers can both win pay hikes.

Sakata Isamu, a 26-year-old man working for a manufacturer, said, “Given that the consumption tax rate is scheduled to rise in April, a base pay increase of about 2,000 yen a month is not enough. Unless our monthly wages increase by at least 10,000 yen, we will have to further tighten our belts.”

Japanese major automakers have achieved a great improvement in performance thanks to the weaker yen resulting from the government economic policy dubbed “Abenomics”. For the first time in six years, those car companies responded that they will raise basic wages this April.

Toyota presented a 2,700 yen increase in its monthly base pay in response to the union’s demand of 4,000 yen. Honda proposed a 2,200 yen raise in reply to the demand of 3,500 yen.


Past related article:
> Block Abe’s attempt to destroy labor laws in 2014 spring struggle [February 20, 2014]