Japanese metal unions secure gains in annual wage negotiations

IMF-JC secures wage rises from major Japanese manufacturers at a critical moment in its 2010 Spring Offensive.

JAPAN: On its Unified Response Day on March 17, IMF-JC's demands for pay rises in 2010 were accepted by most major Japanese manufacturers.

The agreements on wage rises come at a crucial moment in the IMF-JC's 2010 Spring Offensive, the annual wage bargaining round with industry. IMF-JC's Unified Response Day on March 17 began by receiving and aggregating the responses from management to the demands of 55 designated unions of workplaces working under the direction of industry-based unions.

Then the IMF-JC's 6th Strategic Committee Meeting confirmed the responses received so far and set the way forward for the continuing struggle in small and medium-sized unions that receive responses at a later date. IMF-JC General Secretary Hideyuki Wakamatsu and President Koichiro Nishihara then outlined the situation at a press conference.

"In response to the unions' demands, the management side arrived at this Unified Response Day amidst continuing tough negotiations up to the finish, acknowledging the cooperation and efforts by union members toward improved company performance but asserting "the need to strengthen cost competitiveness through curbs on overall personnel costs"," said Wakamatsu.

Management responses to the unions' demands included:

All unions receiving responses were ensured regular pay raise amounts

For bonuses, the overall responses indicated that efforts and cooperation by labour union members were considered.

For increases in overtime pay rates, all working hours outside the prescribed working hours, including public holidays, will be included in the calculations. This will be a huge boost for future small and medium-sized union negotiations. However, overtime pay rate increases were not achieved.

For increases in intra-company minimum wages (industry-based minimum wages) and expanded signing of minimum wage agreements, contributing to improvements for non-regular workers and fulfilling a certain role to society.

For increases in compensation for work and transportation-related disasters, the unions made progress toward increasing levels for the metal industry as a whole.

According to press reports, wage rises will be implemented at most major Japanese manufacturers, including Toyota Motor Corp., Panasonic Corp., Sharp Corp., Sanyo Electric Co., Hitachi Ltd., Toshiba Corp., Mitsubishi Electric Corp., Nippon Steel Corp. and Kobe Steel Ltd.

The IMF-JC has prioritized its 2010 Spring Offensive as an effort to boost the Japanese economy through "investment in people" that will maintain motivation and protect livelihoods. Its demands include:

Fully ensuring the regular pay raise amount,

Ensuring bonuses to protect livelihoods,

Achieving work-life balance through shorter actual working hours and greater overtime pay rates,

Greater signing of intra-company minimum wage agreements and increases in minimum wages; Increases in compensation for work and transportation-related disasters, and

Enforcement of labour-management agreements to stabilize employment of non-regular workers and improve overall working conditions.

At the press conference on March 17, IMF-JC stated that as the metal industry was able to maintain its regular pay raise amount this will influence the forthcoming responses to small and medium-sized unions in the sector and will contribute to boosting wages for all workers. IMF-JC is also fulfilling its role as the metalworkers' division of the national centre RENGO and its policy of "improving working conditions for all workers including non-regular workers."