Underwhelming pay raises unlikely to stimulate consumption
(From The Japan Times March 16 issue)

春闘有額回答後も個人消費促進は見込めず

Most leading carmakers, electronics manufacturers, shipbuilders and steelmakers have concluded this year's spring wage talks. Although they offered wage raises for the third straight year on improved earnings, the raises remain at last year's levels, failing to meet union demands for the most part.

A bleak economic outlook has made management cautious. Amid rising prices for consumer items, including food, the wage hikes will do little to encourage consumption.

Labor repeatedly has called for aggressive pay raises to expand personal consumption for the sake of steady economic growth. The Japanese Trade Union Confederation (Rengo) points out that labor's share of corporate earnings has been on the decline for five consecutive years, with the economic fruits disproportionately distributed to executives and shareholders.

Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda has often called on management to raise pay. At one time, the Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren) said that a portion of the profits should be used to increase wages. But management came around to the conclusion that production costs, including wages, should be restrained so that international competitiveness will not be impaired.

The results of wage talks involving major corporations will have a chilling effect on wage negotiations at smaller enterprises now in full swing. Rengo is putting major emphasis on reducing the wage gaps between large and small enterprises, and between regularly and irregularly employed workers. The latter accounts for one-third of Japan's workforce. The so-called working poor number about 10 million. Unless the wages of workers in a weaker position are raised sufficiently, Japan's consumer demand, the engine of the economy, will remain weak.

春闘で、大手メーカーのほとんどが、増益を反映して、3年連続の有額回答を行った。だが、経営者側が景気の先行きに悲観的なため、賃上げ額は昨年並みに抑えられた。食料などの物価上昇が続く中、この回答では消費促進は見込めそうにない。

労組側は、個人消費促進が経済成長につながるとして大幅賃上げを要求してきた。連合は、株主や役員に不釣合いに多く利益分配されていると指摘している。

福田康夫首相は経営側に再三にわたって賃上げを要請した。だが、経営側は国際競争力が損なわれるのを恐れ、結局、賃金など生産コストを抑える道をとった。

大手の春闘の結果は、今たけなわの中小企業の春闘にも影響するはずだ。弱い立場にいる労働者の地位を上げない限り、経済の原動力である消費者需要は、冷え込んだままになるだろう。