Labor, management have to cooperate to end economic stagnation
(From The Japan Times January 22 issue)

景気低迷打破に向け労使の歩み寄りを

Mr. Hiromasa Yonekura, chairman of the Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren), and Mr. Nobuaki Koga, president of the Japanese Trade Union Confederation (Rengo), held talks Jan. 19, kicking off annual wage negotiations, known as the “spring labor offensive.” It is hoped that labor and management will jointly find ways to pull the Japanese economy out of stagnation, and end the sense of helplessness that grips the nation.

In the meeting, Mr. Koga pointed out that aggregate wages have been on a downward trend since 1997, and that reduction of personnel costs will keep Japan in a trap of low economic growth and deflation. He said that major firms are on a path of recovery and that their internal reserves are abundant.

In view of the overall harsh economic conditions, Rengo, Japan's biggest labor organization, has forgone its traditional practice of uniformly demanding an across-the-board increase in the wage base. But it is calling for a 1 percent raise in the total payroll for workers, including allowances and a seniority-based automatic pay raise.

Nippon Keidanren, Japan's top business lobby, does not want to raise the total payroll, and instead places emphasis on securing employment in view of deflation and the strong yen. But it is ready to let firms continue to implement seniority-based automatic pay raises.

But to prevent the economy from spiraling downward, it will be important to boost wages and improve employment. This would stimulate personal consumption and eventually contribute to increasing corporate profits. It will also be indispensable to improve working conditions of employees of small-to-midsize firms and non-permanent workers. The planned reduction in the corporate tax will be meaningless unless the corporate sector makes serious efforts to increase wages and employment.

日本経団連の米倉弘昌会長と連合の古河伸明会長が会談し、春闘が始まった。経済の停滞と閉塞感を打破するために労使の協力が望まれる。　

古河会長は、人件費削減は経済停滞とデフレからの脱却を遅らせる、大手企業は回復の道を歩み始めており、内部留保も多いと述べた。連合は全従業員の賃金水準を一律に底上げするベアを見送り、諸手当や定期昇給を含む給与総額の１％引き上げを求めている。

経団連は定期昇給維持容認の方針だが、給与総額引き上げではなく雇用確保を重視する。悪循環を絶つには、賃上げと雇用拡大が必要だ。それが個人消費を高め、企業利益を生む。中小企業の従業員および非正社員の労働条件改善も必要だ。賃上げと雇用増大への取り組みなしでは企業減税も意味をなさない。