Japan’s traditional annual pay negotiations (Shunto) started on January 29. The main union confederation, Rengo has demanded a minimum 2% rise in salaries for 2015. Against a backdrop of 20 years of rock bottom purchasing power this “rise in salaries is all the more essential for workers to maintain their standard of living”, argues the union. In an economy where the lack of manpower is starting to hit home, observers announce significant wage rises for 2015. National negotiations however only apply to just one fifth of the active labor force employed on indefinite contracts.
Negotiations started yesterday, whilst already back in December Rengo has announced its intention to demand a minimum 2% rise in wages. “Employers have to be pushed to raise salaries in addition to the automatic rises that are linked to career length”, the union announced. During a meeting with political leaders on November 19 2014, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had appealed to business leaders to raise salaries so as to help the Japanese economy extract itself from the quagmire of long...
Do you have information to share with us?