THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
March 16, 2022 at 18:10 JST
A labor federation employee writes the responses from management to member unions on March 16. (Pool)
Workers at major companies will receive substantial pay hikes, labor unions were told by management on March 16, in response to their annual spring wage offensives.
Unlike last year, when many major firms held off on pay-scale increases because of the novel coronavirus pandemic, the general mood was more upbeat this time around.
Major equipment manufacturers and automakers gave their workers wage hikes along with hefty bonuses.
NEC Corp. gave a monthly pay-scale hike of 3,000 yen ($25) that its labor union had pressed for. Toshiba Corp. is expected to follow suit.
Full responses like these to wage requests have become rare in recent years.
Automakers also opened their wallets. Honda Motor Co. decided on a pay-scale hike of 3,000 yen for the first time in two years. Honda will also hand out a bonus equal to six months’ pay.
Nissan Motor Co. granted a pay-scale hike of 8,000 yen along with a bonus of 5.2 months.
Toyota Motor Corp. on March 9 agreed with its labor union’s demands and granted a bonus of 6.9 months, as well as the requested wage hike. But neither management nor labor revealed whether there was a pay-scale increase.
Despite the increases, concerns are already being raised about whether it will be enough, given the recent increases to the price of fuel and daily necessities, brought about by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Nippon Steel Corp. agreed to a 3,000-yen pay-scale hike, its largest increase since 1998.
At the major heavy equipment manufacturers, IHI Corp. agreed to a pay-scale increase of 1,500 yen and a bonus of 4.8 months, while Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. will give a 1,500-yen pay hike and a bonus of 5.8 months.
Fujitsu Ltd. agreed to a pay-scale hike of 1,500 yen.
Because major companies did not agree to pay-scale increases last year, the average wage increase was only 1.86 percent, according to statistics compiled by the labor ministry. That marked the first time in eight years that the wage increase fell under 2 percent.
Rengo (the Japanese Trade Union Confederation) has long set a 2-percent wage increase target for the spring blitz, along with a pay-scale increase.
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