Spring labor offensive also moves to raise wages for non-regular workers Some voices say that small and medium-sized enterprises are “difficult”

While the focus is on how far wage increases will spread in this year's spring labor offensive, there are also moves to raise the wages of non-regular workers.

As the negotiations for this year's spring labor offensive are in full swing, one focus is on whether wage increases will spread not only among regular employees but also among those who work in non-regular employment.

According to a labor force survey by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the average number of people employed by companies, etc. last year was 56.99 million, excluding executives.

Of these, 21.01 million people work in non-regular employment such as part-time jobs, which is 36.9% of the total.

Many companies have decided to raise base salaries in response to record price increases, and it can be said that the momentum for wage increases is increasing more than usual.

However, some small and medium-sized companies say that raising the hourly wages of part-time workers is difficult due to the difficult business situation due to soaring raw material prices and utility costs.

According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, an estimated 8.5% of part-time workers joined labor unions as of June last year.

For this reason, it has been pointed out that it is difficult for companies to convey their demands for wage increases.

raise wages for all employees

A supplement sales company in Kyoto City will raise the wages of all 150 employees from this month's payment due to rising prices.

Approximately 100 full-time employees will receive a "base increase" that raises the base salary uniformly by 50,000 yen.

In addition, about 50 full-time and part-time workers will raise their hourly wages by 200 yen.

According to the company, the average wage increase rate for both full-time and part-time employees will be about 15%.

This company paid a lump-sum payment to all employees in October and December last year to support their lives in response to rising prices.

Since then, the price of food and other items has continued to rise, so we decided to raise this wage.

It is said that the burden of personnel expenses will increase by tens of millions of yen annually due to this wage increase, but it is said that the funds for the wage increase will be generated from profits without passing it on to the price of the product.

Kyosuke Fujii, manager of Wakasa Seikatsu, a supplement sales company, said, "We decided to raise wages in the same way as full-time and part-time employees. We hope that this will lead to improved service and increased motivation." I'm here.

Part-time women "I can work with peace of mind"

Emi Ogawa (36), who works part-time at this company, lives with her husband, who works as a full-time employee at another company, and her two-year-old child, and says that the wage increase has given her peace of mind.

She is in charge of dealing with customers and distributing e-mail magazines, and she has been working for this company for about seven years.

She is expected to raise her hourly wage by 200 yen and increase her monthly salary by 20,000 to 25,000 yen.

In response to rising prices, I have continued to cut back on my living expenses.

I try to avoid using air conditioners as much as possible to keep my utility bills down, and when I shop at supermarkets, I buy cheap private brand products.

In the future, I think that I will need more money to raise my children, so I will have to save money, but I was worried about the future as my expenses increased due to the successive price increases of food and other items.

Under these circumstances, she says that the wages of part-time workers were raised in the same way as full-time employees, so she was able to feel secure in her life.

Ms. Ogawa said, "While I'm worried about my life due to rising prices, my child is still small, and I feel that I can work with peace of mind because I have been given a continuous wage increase, not a temporary allowance. It will improve my motivation and I hope I can contribute to the workplace."

Some companies have strict management and difficulty in raising wages

On the other hand, there are voices from small and medium-sized enterprises that it will be difficult to raise wages even if they want to raise wages due to rising raw material and energy prices.

A company that operates a discount supermarket in Adachi-ku, Tokyo has 7 stores in Tokyo and Saitama Prefecture, and about 130 people work at 6 directly managed stores.

About 100 people, more than 70%, are non-regular workers, and according to the company, many of them are housewives, and it is said that there are quite a few people who continue to work while receiving pensions.

Hourly wages for part-time workers have been raised in line with the minimum wages in Tokyo and Saitama prefectures.

The company wants to raise the hourly wage somehow in response to the rise in prices, but it is said that it is difficult.

The main reason for this is the increase in utility costs and the purchase price of products.

At the store in Adachi Ward, the electricity bill paid in December last year increased by more than 40% from a year ago.

They are trying to save electricity by turning off some of the lights in the store and switching from fluorescent lights to LEDs, but they say there are limits to how much electricity they can save because they handle a lot of frozen and refrigerated products.

In addition, the purchase price of the products handled in the store is rising, and we are forced to raise the selling price of many products.

According to the company, the selling price of its main products was forced to increase by about 1.5 times for edible oil and about 1.7 times for instant coffee in the past year.

Under these circumstances, stores are trying to prevent customers from leaving by continuing special sales corners that sell foods and beverages that have been purchased in bulk at a low price of 68 yen excluding tax.

However, the number of items purchased by customers at stores in Adachi Ward last month decreased by about 14% compared to the same month of the previous year.

Last month's sales also decreased by about 4% from a year ago, and it seems that people are holding back on buying in the midst of high prices.

Takayuki Karakama, president of Ebisuya Shoten, which operates the supermarket, said, "Employees also have a living, so they want to raise their wages even a little, but I think it's difficult. To be honest, I can't raise wages because I can't make a profit. In such a place, I have a frustrating feeling, ”he said.