By Tetsushi Kajimoto
TOKYO (Reuters) – The head of Japan’s largest trade union confederation on Tuesday called for further wage rises beyond next year, arguing that this year’s wage hikes were inadequate if they prove a one-off.
The trade unions will demand further wage hikes next year and the year after next to sustain wage growth, Rengo President Tomoko Yoshino told reporters.
“We don’t believe that one-off wage hikes for this current season would be adequate,” she said.
“Wages must go up, up and up to break the status quo.”
In Japan, labour unions have typically attached greater importance to job security rather than aggressive wage hikes following a series of financial crises since the late 1990s, which has put a drag on wage growth, Yoshino said.
Japan’s major companies wrapped up their annual labour talks with average wage hikes of 3.8% for this fiscal year, the largest raise in about three decades, Rengo’s preliminary data showed.
The preliminary survey of 805 unions affiliated with Rengo showed the average hike rate of 11,844 yen ($88.97) per month.
Rengo’s revised estimates as of April 3 showed 2,500 unions — accounting for close to half of all unions that submitted requests — were able to obtain wage increases of 3.7% on average.
For smaller unions with less than 300 members, it was 3.42%, the biggest increase in a decade.
Yoshino said small firms were not in the same situation as big ones as they struggle to pass on rising materials costs, squeezing profits and making it harder to pay for higher salaries.
Asked whether it was better to prioritise wage growth or employment, she said it was a “tough question” although she might prioritise employment under certain circumstances.
($1 = 133.1300 yen)
(Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Christina Fincher)
