The Japan Labor Flash No.73
Email Journal November 15, 2006
Statistical Reports
Recent Statistical Survey Reports
Current Topics
Winter Bonuses at Large Firms Averages 878,071 yen
Leading Iron and Steel Companies to Raise Wages Next Spring for
First Time in Six Years
Public Policies
Campaign Month Begins to Promote Employment in Construction Sector
Central Labour Relations Commission Partially Revises an Order at
First Hearing
News Clippings
Expansion of Systems for Legal Compliance on Progress
The First Nationwide Organization to Assist Working Women to Be Formed
Special Issue
An Era of Population Shrinkage Now Begins
Statistical Reports
-Recent Statistical Survey Reports-
Features
General Survey Working Conditions (2006)
Opinion Survey on the General Public's Views and Behavior
(September, 2006)
http://www.jil.go.jp/english/estatis/esaikin/2006/e2006-10.htm
Current Topics
-Winter Bonuses at Large Firms Averages 878,071 yen-
In late October, Nippon Keidanren (the Japan Business Federation)
published its preliminary compilation of 2006 year-end bonuses and
lump-sum payments at large firms with 500 or more employees.
According to this report, 208 of the 288 firms surveyed have reached
agreements on the amount of winter bonuses. The (weighted) average
winter bonus among the 129 firms for which details of average payments
are available was 878,071 yen, an increase of 2.75 percent compared
to the previous year, breaking the record in the preliminary compilation
for the second consecutive year. By industry, the amount exceeded
1 million yen in the iron and steel industry (11 firms) and the automobile
industry (7 firms).
On the other hand, according to a final report published at the end
of October by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, the 2006
summer bonus payment increased by 1.3 percent over the previous year
to 416,054 yen. Percentage increases in manufacturing, wholesale and
retail stores, and the services were 1.5%, 4.0%, and 0.1%, respectively.
US$=117yen (November 15, 2006)
-Leading Iron and Steel Companies to Raise Wages Next Spring for
First Time in Six Years-
The labor and management of Nippon Steel Corp. and JFE Steel Corp.,
leading iron and steel companies, have agreed on pay hikes in fiscal
year 2007, the first such hikes in six years. Kobe Steel Ltd. and
other companies in the industry seem likely to take similar steps.
Behind the recent move towards pay hikes lies the recovery of firms'
business performance in the iron and steel industry. Both Nippon Steel
and JFE Steel apparently plan to raise wage levels by revising their
wage systems: through a revision generous to middle-aged and older
workers with advanced skills, they aim to facilitate the handing down
of those skills to the younger generation, thus maintaining technological
levels and improving competitive power in the international market.
This spring, automobile and electronics manufacturers raised their
wage levels for the first time in five years, though some firms
refrained from wage increases due to caution about a possible increase
in labor costs. That the iron and steel industry, which has a great
influence on wage setting in industrial circles, has decided to increase
wages is likely to have a substantial impact on the spring joint wage
negotiations next year.
Public Policies
-Campaign Month Begins to Promote Employment in Construction Sector-
The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare; the Ministry of Land,
Infrastructure and Transport; and the Employment and Human Resources
Development Organization of Japan designated November as the month
for promoting employment in the construction sector, conducting
educational campaigns at various places in Japan. The three organizations
decided this year's slogan would be "We Want Better Places To Work
In!"
On November 2, a meeting to promote employment in the construction
sector was held in Tokyo, and business establishments which provided
good working conditions for their employees were commended. A series
of such conferences are also to be held in individual prefectures.
-Central Labour Relations Commission Partially Revises an Order at
First Hearing-
On October 10, the Central Labour Relations Commission issued an
order to partially revise an order issued in the first hearing of a
case in which plaintiffs called for measures against unfair labor
practices by Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Ltd., which allegedly
discriminated against certain ability-grades of union members belonging
to an affiliated society of the All Japan Shipbuilding and Engineering
Union. At the first hearing, the Commission ordered the defendant to
provide remedies to three of the 12 plaintiffs. The Commission now
officially recognizes that the company used unfair labor against
another two workers, explaining that it was an intervention from above
to undermine the union.
News Clippings
-Expansion of Systems for Legal Compliance on Progress-
With increasing attention being paid to corporate social responsibility
(CSR), due to a spate of corporate misconduct and bid riggings, a survey
on CSR carried out in June and July this year by the Japan Management
Association and Agile Associates Inc. shows that companies are calling
on their own purchasing and procurement departments to comply with laws
and regulations and exercise internal control.
More specifically, the largest proportion, 39.2 percent, of the
companies surveyed put emphasis on "strengthening of compliance with
laws and regulations and internal control," followed by "development
and purchasing" (31.3%), whereby companies engage in development
of
components in collaboration with the companies placing the orders,
and lastly "reform of work processes and adoption of new systems
to
streamline work procedures" (29.4%). Top management seems to be
concerned that their purchasing and procurement departments take
advantage of their dominant position in compelling their subcontractors
to accept unfavorable deals. The survey targeted 1,603 leading companies,
and effective replies were returned by 320 companies.
On the other hand, financial institutions are busily upgrading their
business foundations, since, due to increasingly vigilant shareholders
and customers, misconduct and lack of a solid business foundation is
likely to result in management being blamed.
(Nihon Keizai Shimbun and Nikkei Sangyo Shimbun, October)
-The First Nationwide Organization to Assist Working Women to Be Formed-
Women members of labor unions and NGO's across the country came
together to form the first nationwide organization to support working
women (ACW2 = Action Center for Working Women). The number of women
working as non-regular employees now accounts for more than half of
working women as a whole, and existing labor unions are unable to
deal with problems faced by such a sharply increased number of workers.
There is a need for a system in which any woman in any region can
participate, and whereby they can receive legal advice and assistance
in labor-management negotiations. The Center, in which approximately
500 women are expected to participate, is to be officially established
in January 2007.
The number of complaints regarding dismissal, sexual harassment,
"power harassment," etc., mainly filed by non-regular female
workers,
has been increasing, says Midori Ito, former chairperson of Women's
Union Tokyo, who is due to become the representative of the Center.
She also says that there have been an increasing number of cases of
health problems and depression among working women since the Equal
Employment Opportunity Law was revised and the regulations protecting
women under the Labor Standards Law were abolished, and thus it is now
necessary to apply an integrated approach to these issues.
(Asahi Shimbun, October)
Special Issue
-An Era of Population Shrinkage Now Begins-
On October 31, the Statistics Bureau of the Ministry of Internal
Affairs and Communications published its final report on the total
population of Japan as of October 1, 2005, based on the national census
conducted every five years. According to the 2005 census, the total
population is 127,767,994 (approximately 62.35 million males and
approximately 65.42 million females, the latter exceeding the former
by 3.07 million). The total was smaller than the population estimated
one year earlier by approximately 22,000.
Continued on;
http://www.jil.go.jp/english/archives/emm/2003/no.73/73_si.html
