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9 December, 2002The IMF's Japanese affiliate has decided not to seek a unified basic monthly pay hike during next spring's "shunto".
JAPAN: The IMF-affiliated Japan Council of Metalworkers' Unions (IMF-JC) has decided that for the second year running it will not seek a unified basic monthly pay raise for its member unions during the "shunto" wage talks next spring.
The 2.5 million-strong IMF-JC, a major pacesetter for wage negotiations in Japan, has announced that its priority for 2003 collective bargaining with management will be placed on safeguarding and stabilising jobs, as was the case for the 2002 wages talks.
The president of the IMF-JC, Katsutoshi Suzuki, told a trade union committee meeting that he could not find "a rationale for pushing a unified demand on the scope of a basic pay raise when the trend in prices and expanding differences among the earnings performances of various companies are taken into account."
Both the IMF-JC and the Rengo trade union confederation have said they will opt for a demand that trade union members be given a monthly wage increase linked to an increase in age.
The unemployment rate in Japan hit a record high of 5.5 per cent in October. Last April, the IMF-JC participated in a massive two-day trade union march and rally to protest against government economic and labour policies and to demand urgent measures by the government to stimulate the economy and improve employment opportunties.