Spring Annual Salary Negotiations Begin at Tokyo Business Forum

TOKYO – Annual "offensive" wage negotiations kicked off on Jan. 28 with the launch of the Japan Business Federation forum, where representatives of management and workers from the country's largest companies began exchanging views.

For the sixth consecutive year, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has called on the business sector to increase the salaries of its employees, but the federation, also known as Keidanren, has expressed its intention to evade "a spring offensive led by the government ". With this statement, all that employers and employees can agree this year seems to be the subject of the "battle" this spring.

As an organization, Keidanren points out that the position that wage increases between the company's management and employees are "not something that is done at the request of the government". The corporate lobby has ceased to focus on pay scale increases to focus on "general improvement of worker treatment" through adjustments from the environment of the workplace and other policies.

The Japanese Confederation of Trade Unions, known as Rengo, has also moved from reducing wage increases to correcting imbalances, to the value of total monthly wages.

Hiroaki Nakanishi, president of Keidanren, said at the opening of the forum: "On the basis of favorable profit conditions for all companies, I would like companies whose profits to increase and those who have improved their profits in the medium term continue to employ various methods: raise wages on an annual basis and improve the overall treatment of employees. "Rengo's president, Rikio Kozu, was due to make his comments to the forum later in the day, then explain the positions of the union lobby regarding the spring offensive.

In light of the good performance of companies and the need to secure workers, the management of Japanese companies has shown a positive attitude towards the continuation of wage increases. However, as the direction of the global market worsens with issues such as the worsening of the US-China trade war, it is crucial to determine whether high wage increases can be achieved. no.

The forum will run until January 29th. After the event, Nakanishi and Kozu will open talks as union and employer lobbyists on February 5th and the spring offensive will be in full swing. After negotiations between employers and employees of each company, the business sector in Japan will move towards the unified response day set for March 13th.

(Original Japanese Mikako Yokoyama, Trade Information Department)