"Shunto" Pay Hike Demands Top 6 Pct for 1st Time in 32 Years

Tokyo, March 6 (Jiji Press)--The weighted average of wage hikes demanded by 2,939 member unions of the Japanese Trade Union Confederation, or Rengo, in this year's "shunto" labor-management negotiations came to 6.09 pct, a Rengo survey showed Thursday.

It is the first time in 32 years for the average wage hike request to exceed 6 pct, amid the soaring cost of living and labor shortages.

As of Monday, the average was 19,244 yen, up 1,638 yen from the previous year, with pay scale hikes requested by 2,454 labor unions averaging 14,283 yen, or a 4.51 pct increase.

Among the unions, those with fewer than 300 members asked for an average wage hike of 6.57 pct, exceeding the 6 pct target set by Rengo for small unions.

"I felt the determination of the smaller labor unions in this shunto," Rengo President Tomoko Yoshino said at a press conference on Thursday. "I hope that the demands of each union will be fully met," she said.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]