With record price increases progressing, it is also an issue whether the labor union will be able to negotiate for a wage increase in this year's spring labor offensive.

Consulting companies in Tokyo are receiving more consultations from labor unions on how to proceed with negotiations for wage increases.

A consulting company in Tokyo concludes contracts with approximately 1,800 labor unions each year to provide consulting services.



Negotiations will be in full swing from next month onwards for this year's spring labor offensive, but the number of consultations from labor unions is increasing, an increase of about 20% compared to last year's spring labor offensive.



Many of the consultations received are that they do not know how to proceed with negotiations with management or how to decide the level of wage increase they are requesting.



At this company, the reason for the increase in consultations is that the number of labor union representatives who have little experience in negotiating for wage increases is increasing, and that the number of unions deciding on demands for wage increases is increasing in response to rising prices. Analyzing.



For this reason, consulting companies conduct questionnaire surveys on how high prices have affected the lives of their employees, and collect opinions from the workplace on how much the efforts of employees have contributed to the company's performance. We advise management to clearly show the rationale for wage increases and proceed with negotiations.

Masanobu Yoshikawa, vice president of "j.union" said, "Rising prices are having a major impact on the lives of working people, and there is a growing movement among labor unions to demand wage increases to protect their livelihoods. The union side. I would like to support not only the management side but also the wage increase to have a good effect."

At the labor union of IT companies in Tokyo

In preparation for this year's spring labor offensive, there is a series of movements among labor unions to seek wage increases that match the rise in prices.


However, some unions have little experience in asking for significant wage increases, and some say that they are worried about how to proceed with negotiations with management.



The labor union of an IT company in Tokyo has about 800 union members, and seven executive officers attended on the 24th to discuss the upcoming spring struggle.



We received feedback from union members such as, ``High utility bills and food costs are affecting our lives,'' and ``I want a monthly payment of 7,000 to 10,000 yen to help fight inflation.'' In response to record price hikes, there are more requests for wage increases than in previous years.



For this reason, the labor union has confirmed that it will seek a "base increase" that raises the base salary.



Negotiations for this year's spring struggle are scheduled to start next month by submitting a request to the management side, and we will decide the specific amount to ask for a base increase by then.



However, they had little experience in requesting a large wage increase in the spring labor negotiations, and they were worried about how to ask management for a wage increase and how to determine the amount of wage increase to be requested. I will take advice from the company and proceed with the preparations.

Yuya Ishikawa, general secretary of the Tsuzuki Electric Labor Union's central executive department, said, "Many people are saying that they are being affected by rising prices, so we would like to proceed with negotiations with a focus on raising wages. We want to improve employee motivation. I would like to work on it so that it will not only lead to innovation in the company," he said.

Over the past 20 years, wages have stagnated

According to the "Monthly Labor Survey" conducted by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare for offices with 5 or more employees, the total cash earnings per worker, including basic wages and overtime pay, will average 100 in 2020. The index for 2000 was 109.8.



After that, it is 104.3 in 2005, 103.3 in 2008, and 99.3 in 2009, showing a downward trend.



From 2009 to 2016, it is almost flat.



And it will be 100.3 in 2021, and you can see that wages have been sluggish over the past 20 years.