No. 1357 No Impact Seen of Wage Hike on Workers of Smaller Businesses
Media have hailed wage increases of workers of big companies who accomplished good results during the annual Spring Labor Offensive 2024, but more than 60% of people who were interviewed in the street answered ‘a wage hike is insufficient’. A fact is that the offensive’s results had no effect on the wages of workers in the medium-and-small business entities and that the increases do not surpass to mitigate today’s price surges.
WAGES FOR EIGHT-HOUR-WORK A DAY SHOULD ENSURE DECENT LIVES OF WORKERS
The Rengo, or the Japan Trade Union Confederation (JATUC), issued May 16 an interim report on the Spring Labor Offensive 2024. It says that the wage hikes including a regular salary increase account \15,616 on the weighted average, which is a rise by 5.17%. As for salaries for workers of smaller companies whose employees count less than 300, the figure is \11,889, or 4.66%.
The Rengo appraises the results, saying that ‘the figures are the highest since the year 2014 in both of the amount and ratio, and that the target of a 5%-digit hike was accomplished for the first time since the year 1991. The wage increases have exceeded the price hike rates of previous years.’
Wages in real term have fallen
The Spring Offensive 2023 has brought a wage hike by 3.58% (\10,560 according to the Rengo), which was appreciated as an unprecedented surge, but the wages in real term in 2023 have declined by 2.2%, compared with the figures of 2022, according to the monthly statistical survey by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Social Welfare. The office’s study for 2024 March says wages in real term are less by 2.5% when compared with those of the same month of the previous year. This means a 24-month-long consecutive decline. It is the longest time during which workers have had less and less incomes.
Workers are attacked simultaneously by the price hikes and decreasing real wages. Higher level of salaries will be reflected after summer. And therefore, people’s livelihood becomes harder.
Poverty prevails, with social gaps expanding
The JAM, or the Japan Association of Metal, Machinery and Manufacturing Workers, which organizes medium-and-small-sized companies, says that ‘if companies were able to pass cost well through to customers, they could achieve a wage hike to the digit of \10,000, but others that could not do so, the results were lower’. According to the interviews held in the street in mid-May, over 60% of respondents said ‘wage hikes are not enough’.
Under these circumstances, the Action Committee of Irregular Workers for Spring Labor Offensive 2024 have fought going on strike, challenging a target of ‘10% wage hike’. Seventy-three percent of the respondents, however, said ‘salaries did not go up’, who answered to the questionnaires held on internet between January and the end of April. Clearly, the impact of wage surges of workers of big companies has extended only partially.
Let’s continue striving for minimum-wage hike
The government maintains its policy to reduce corporate taxes and favor with the rich; thus, export industries have gained ‘extraordinary current earnings’, accumulating their internal reserves up to \570 trillion (July 2023). The so-called government-sponsored Spring Lavor Offensive has failed as ‘the trickle-down hypotheses’ collapsed. Flattering the government will not lead to right distribution of wealth for workers nor restoration of their status. Trade unions must fight by going on strikes to conquer workers’ rights as well as wage hikes.
Incidentally, the rate of workers to participate in labor unions remains as low as 16.3%. Crucial is struggles for raising the minimum wage for non-unionized workers and casual workers as they cannot have effects of the labor offensives.
Let’s fight in the workplaces and municipalities across the country! The slogans are ‘an eight-hour work a day should bring right wages’ and ‘the minimum wage per hour be \1,500.’
24春闘は「歴史的賃上げ」と文字が躍ったが、街頭インタビューでは60％以上が「賃上げ不十分」と答えた。中小企業への波及・「物価高騰を超える実感ある賃上げ」ができていない現状だ。
連合は５月16日、24春闘の「中間まとめ」を発表した。それによれば、定昇込み賃上げは加重平均で１万５６１６円、５・17％。うち３００人未満の中小組合は、１万１８８９円、４・66％となっている。
連合はこれを、「２０１４年以降では額・率とも最も高く、１９９１年以来となる定昇込み５％台の賃上げが実現した。賃上げ分は過年度物価上昇率を上回った」と評価した。
実質賃金はダウン
23春闘は３・58％(１万５６０円・連合集約)で空前の賃上げと言われたが、厚労省の毎月勤労統計調査によると23年度の実質賃金は前年度比２・２ ％ ダウン。今年３月の実質賃金は前年同月比２・５％減と24カ月連続で前年割れし、マイナス期間が過去最長を更新した。
物価高と実質賃金が増えないダブルパンチに労働者はあえいでいる。高い水準の賃上げが反映するのは夏以降、生活は困窮するばかりだ。
貧困・格差は拡大
中小企業を多く組織しているＪＡＭでは「価格転嫁できた企業の賃上げは５桁に乗せることができたが、価格転嫁率の低い企業の賃上げは低く、賃金格差は拡大」としている。また、連休明けの街頭インタビューでは60％以上が「賃上げ不十分」と答えた。
そんな中、非正規春闘実行委は「10％賃上げ」を掲げ、ストライキ等で闘ったが、「非正規労働者の賃金実態」インターネットアンケートは１月から４月末までに、73％が賃金が「上がっていない」と答えた。非正規労働者への波及は一部にとどまっていることが明らかだ。
春闘から最賃闘争
政府の法人税減税と金持ち優遇政策は続き、輸出企業を中心に「空前の経常利益」、内部留保は５７０兆円（昨年７月）だが、「官製春闘のトリクルダウン」は破綻。政権へのすり寄りでは、労働者への分配や還元はない。賃上げや諸権利は、労働組合がストライキ等で闘わなくては勝ち取れない。
また、労働組合の組織率は16・３％と低く、春闘結果が反映しにくい非正規・未組織労働者にとって、最低賃金の引上げこそ重要な課題となっている。
「８時間働けば生活できる賃金と全国一律１５００円」の闘いを全国の職場・地域で闘い抜こう。
英訳版↓
No. 1357 No Impact Seen of Wage Hike on Workers of Smaller Businesses
Media have hailed wage increases of workers of big companies who accomplished good results during the annual Spring Labor Offensive 2024, but more than 60% of people who were interviewed in the street answered ‘a wage hike is insufficient’. A fact is that the offensive’s results had no effect on the wages of workers in the medium-and-small business entities and that the increases do not surpass to mitigate today’s price surges.
WAGES FOR EIGHT-HOUR-WORK A DAY SHOULD ENSURE DECENT LIVES OF WORKERS
The Rengo, or the Japan Trade Union Confederation (JATUC), issued May 16 an interim report on the Spring Labor Offensive 2024. It says that the wage hikes including a regular salary increase account \15,616 on the weighted average, which is a rise by 5.17%. As for salaries for workers of smaller companies whose employees count less than 300, the figure is \11,889, or 4.66%.
The Rengo appraises the results, saying that ‘the figures are the highest since the year 2014 in both of the amount and ratio, and that the target of a 5%-digit hike was accomplished for the first time since the year 1991. The wage increases have exceeded the price hike rates of previous years.’
Wages in real term have fallen
The Spring Offensive 2023 has brought a wage hike by 3.58% (\10,560 according to the Rengo), which was appreciated as an unprecedented surge, but the wages in real term in 2023 have declined by 2.2%, compared with the figures of 2022, according to the monthly statistical survey by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Social Welfare. The office’s study for 2024 March says wages in real term are less by 2.5% when compared with those of the same month of the previous year. This means a 24-month-long consecutive decline. It is the longest time during which workers have had less and less incomes.
Workers are attacked simultaneously by the price hikes and decreasing real wages. Higher level of salaries will be reflected after summer. And therefore, people’s livelihood becomes harder.
Poverty prevails, with social gaps expanding
The JAM, or the Japan Association of Metal, Machinery and Manufacturing Workers, which organizes medium-and-small-sized companies, says that ‘if companies were able to pass cost well through to customers, they could achieve a wage hike to the digit of \10,000, but others that could not do so, the results were lower’. According to the interviews held in the street in mid-May, over 60% of respondents said ‘wage hikes are not enough’.
Under these circumstances, the Action Committee of Irregular Workers for Spring Labor Offensive 2024 have fought going on strike, challenging a target of ‘10% wage hike’. Seventy-three percent of the respondents, however, said ‘salaries did not go up’, who answered to the questionnaires held on internet between January and the end of April. Clearly, the impact of wage surges of workers of big companies has extended only partially.
Let’s continue striving for minimum-wage hike
The government maintains its policy to reduce corporate taxes and favor with the rich; thus, export industries have gained ‘extraordinary current earnings’, accumulating their internal reserves up to \570 trillion (July 2023). The so-called government-sponsored Spring Lavor Offensive has failed as ‘the trickle-down hypotheses’ collapsed. Flattering the government will not lead to right distribution of wealth for workers nor restoration of their status. Trade unions must fight by going on strikes to conquer workers’ rights as well as wage hikes.
Incidentally, the rate of workers to participate in labor unions remains as low as 16.3%. Crucial is struggles for raising the minimum wage for non-unionized workers and casual workers as they cannot have effects of the labor offensives.
Let’s fight in the workplaces and municipalities across the country! The slogans are ‘an eight-hour work a day should bring right wages’ and ‘the minimum wage per hour be \1,500.’
June 5, 2024