No. 1333 Meeting of Politicians, Business Leaders and Labor Organizers
Prime Minister Kishida Fumio held a meeting of representatives from the Keidanren, or the Japan Business Federation, and from the Rengo, or the Japan Trade Union Confederation, at the Prime Minister’s Office. It was a conference of political and business people and trade union organizers. Reportedly, the Rengo is planned to have a meeting, following the tripartite meeting, with politicians to discuss labor issues.
THE THREE PARTIES AGREE ON WAGE HIKE, BUT…..
Premier Kishida asked the participants in the meeting to cooperate in heightening salaries for the next year which will exceed the ratio of 2023 Spring Labor Offensive.
Government well pretends to help small-and-medium-sized companies
Prime Minister Kishida explained, as was expected, the government’s policies on economy, including the income tax reduction: in the presence of Chairman of the Fair-Trade Commission, who was invited to attend the meeting, he showed the outline of the ‘guidelines on price negotiation’, which is being put for debates. Responding to the demand from Premier, the chairman replied ‘violations can be contrary to the Anti-Monopoly Law’. Prime Minister was intended to ask for cooperation to increase wages of workers of small-and-medium-sized business entities which work desperately on shifting higher labor costs to prices.
A representative from the Keidanren said that ‘employers make utmost effort with enthusiasm to provide higher wage hikes than those of the year 2023’, showing an example, Suntory Holdings Limited, which expresses a 7% salary increase in accordance with its historic lucrative performance.
Meanwhile the working population has been facing decreasing salaries for over 20 years; that means big businesses have been accumulating their internal reserves. The tripartite meeting was a theatrical venue where the government and the business circle could escape their responsibilities, though they are attributable to the growing gaps and poverty.
Rengo approaches to government
Nevertheless, the Rengo appreciated the results of the 2023 labor offensive, saying that ‘according to the statistics, the wage hike rate was 3.58%, including the small-and-medium-sized firms, in the negotiations between the employer and labor sides in 2023, which was successful after 30 years of failure’.
On the other hand, however, price hikes have continued to prevail. A real wage per person recorded last September showed a decrease by 2.4%, compared with the figure of September 2022, an 18-month-long consecutive decline of salaries.
Under these circumstances, the Rengo sets the wage hike rate for the Labor Offensive 2024 as ‘over 3% for the basic salaries, and over 5% if combined with the regular salary increase’. The request for the previous offensive was ‘around 5%’, so the change is just from ‘around’ to ‘over’.
The Rengo is to hold a meeting with the government this year as no conference has been held for over ten years due to the labor’s reluctance. Because it had hailed the official financial assistance to cope with the annual wage-hikes. The group tilts towards the government, as is seen in a request to Prime Minister to attend the annual labor congress. But inside the Rengo there are voices rightly of doubt over the moves.
Attain equal terms with employers, the labor going on strikes
On the website of the Rengo they say that:
A trade union is a body which negotiates with employers on the equal terms. For that purpose, the labor has ‘the rights to unite’ and ‘of mass bargaining. If the talks are unsuccessful, the union has the right to go on strike, which is the right to protest, renouncing jobs. It is the important, constitutional right bestowed solely to labor unions.
Historic predecessors said plainly that ‘negotiation on wages without presupposing a strike is a collective begging’. We must not forget a lesson without executing the right to go on strike the labor cannot obtain equality with the management.
岸田文雄首相は11月15日、首相官邸で経団連、連合の代表者と意見交換する「政労使会議」を開いた。連合は、これに続き労働政策を話し合う「政労会見」の実現を模索しているという。
岸田首相は会議の席上、来春闘で今年を上回る水準の賃上げ協力を要請した。
「中小支援」を演出
所得税減税を含む政府の経済対策を説明したのは筋書き通りだが、公取委の委員長を同席させ、検討中の「価格交渉に関する指針」骨子を示し、「違反行為は独占禁止法に抵触する恐れがある」と言わせ、人件費分の価格転嫁に苦しむ「中小企業の賃上げ支援」を演出した。
経団連側はこれに対し、サントリーホールディングなどが歴史的な増益を背景に、７％程度の賃上げを表明しているとし、「少なくとも今年以上の水準をめざす意気込みも熱も傾けている」と応じた。
20年以上も給与所得は下がり続け、大企業の内部留保だけが積み上げられてきた。政労使会議は、格差と貧困を拡大させ続ける政府と財界の責任回避劇場でもあった。
政権に接近の動き
それにもかかわらず連合は、「集計によると23年春季交渉で中小も含む賃上げ率は３・５８％と30年ぶりの上げ幅だった」と評価した。
しかし、物価上昇は続いており、今年９月の働く人１人あたりの実質賃金は去年の同じ月と比べて２・４％減少。18カ月連続でマイナスとなっているのだ。
そうした中でも連合は、来春闘の賃上げ要求は「ベア分３％以上、定昇を合わせて５％以上」としている。昨年の要求「５％程度」が、「以上」に変わっただけである。
連合は、賃上げ継続への政府の後押しを求め10年以上開かれていない「政労会見」の実現をめざし、大会に首相の出席を要請するなど政権に接近する動きを強めている。しかし、これにはさすがに連合内でも疑問の声が上がっている。
スト権行使で対等
連合のホームページには、「雇う側と対等な立場で交渉するのが労働組合」。そのために「必要な権利として「団結権」「団体交渉権」があり、「話し合いがまとまらなかった場合、仕事をしないで抗議をする権利「ストライキ権」が労働組合だけに与えられている重要な憲法的権利としている。
先人は、「ストライキを背景としない賃金交渉は集団的物乞いだ」と喝破した。ストライキ権の行使なくして労使対等を実現できないことを忘れてはなるまい。
英訳版↓
No. 1333 Meeting of Politicians, Business Leaders and Labor Organizers
Prime Minister Kishida Fumio held a meeting of representatives from the Keidanren, or the Japan Business Federation, and from the Rengo, or the Japan Trade Union Confederation, at the Prime Minister’s Office. It was a conference of political and business people and trade union organizers. Reportedly, the Rengo is planned to have a meeting, following the tripartite meeting, with politicians to discuss labor issues.
THE THREE PARTIES AGREE ON WAGE HIKE, BUT…..
Premier Kishida asked the participants in the meeting to cooperate in heightening salaries for the next year which will exceed the ratio of 2023 Spring Labor Offensive.
Government well pretends to help small-and-medium-sized companies
Prime Minister Kishida explained, as was expected, the government’s policies on economy, including the income tax reduction: in the presence of Chairman of the Fair-Trade Commission, who was invited to attend the meeting, he showed the outline of the ‘guidelines on price negotiation’, which is being put for debates. Responding to the demand from Premier, the chairman replied ‘violations can be contrary to the Anti-Monopoly Law’. Prime Minister was intended to ask for cooperation to increase wages of workers of small-and-medium-sized business entities which work desperately on shifting higher labor costs to prices.
A representative from the Keidanren said that ‘employers make utmost effort with enthusiasm to provide higher wage hikes than those of the year 2023’, showing an example, Suntory Holdings Limited, which expresses a 7% salary increase in accordance with its historic lucrative performance.
Meanwhile the working population has been facing decreasing salaries for over 20 years; that means big businesses have been accumulating their internal reserves. The tripartite meeting was a theatrical venue where the government and the business circle could escape their responsibilities, though they are attributable to the growing gaps and poverty.
Rengo approaches to government
Nevertheless, the Rengo appreciated the results of the 2023 labor offensive, saying that ‘according to the statistics, the wage hike rate was 3.58%, including the small-and-medium-sized firms, in the negotiations between the employer and labor sides in 2023, which was successful after 30 years of failure’.
On the other hand, however, price hikes have continued to prevail. A real wage per person recorded last September showed a decrease by 2.4%, compared with the figure of September 2022, an 18-month-long consecutive decline of salaries.
Under these circumstances, the Rengo sets the wage hike rate for the Labor Offensive 2024 as ‘over 3% for the basic salaries, and over 5% if combined with the regular salary increase’. The request for the previous offensive was ‘around 5%’, so the change is just from ‘around’ to ‘over’.
The Rengo is to hold a meeting with the government this year as no conference has been held for over ten years due to the labor’s reluctance. Because it had hailed the official financial assistance to cope with the annual wage-hikes. The group tilts towards the government, as is seen in a request to Prime Minister to attend the annual labor congress. But inside the Rengo there are voices rightly of doubt over the moves.
Attain equal terms with employers, the labor going on strikes
On the website of the Rengo they say that:
A trade union is a body which negotiates with employers on the equal terms. For that purpose, the labor has ‘the rights to unite’ and ‘of mass bargaining. If the talks are unsuccessful, the union has the right to go on strike, which is the right to protest, renouncing jobs. It is the important, constitutional right bestowed solely to labor unions.
Historic predecessors said plainly that ‘negotiation on wages without presupposing a strike is a collective begging’. We must not forget a lesson without executing the right to go on strike the labor cannot obtain equality with the management.
December 6, 2023