Vol.33-No.09 September 1,1994
The Ministry of Labour compiled the results of its survey on the outcome of 1994 spring wage negotiations agreed upon at 290 major private firms with 1,000 and more employees. According to the survey results, the weighted average wage hike agreed upon was 9,118, yen or 3.13 percent, down 1,959 yen or 0.76 point from the year before. The wage increase rate was less than the previously lowest figure of 3.56 percent recorded in 1987.By industry, the largest wage hike was registered in construction with 14,298, yen followed by wholesale and retail trade (11,227 yen), land transport (11,146 yen), broadcasting and telecommunications (10,878 yen) and services (10,587 yen). In contrast, the lowest wage raise was posted in the steel industry of 4,690, yen dropping below 5,000 yen. The wholsale and retail industry won the highest wage increase rate of 3.58 percent, followed by land transport (3.56%) and services (3.47%). The wage hike rate in the steel industry, meanwhile, was the lowest at 1.64 percent, followed by rubber products, textiles and autos.
The real wage increase rate (the above-mentioned wage hike rate plus the 1993 increase rate of consumer prices) was 1.9 percent. The rate further sank to 1.6 percent if the government-forecast 1994 price increase rate, instead of the 1993 rate, was used.
As in 1993, major unions all made a coordinated move with major industrial centers and settled upon wage negotiations with management late March. Those firms which settled upon wage talks during the period were 73.8 percent of these surveyed.
On May 27, Rengo (Japanese Trade Confederation), the nation's largest national center, compiled the final results of wage negotiations agreed upon at 1,357 unions with 3,371,215 union members. Rengo said that labor accepted a 3.11 percent, 8,583, yen pay raise.
In a separate survey, compiled on May 18, on wage hike talks ageed upon at 302 firms, Nikkeiren said that both labor and management agreed upon a wage increase of 3.1 percent, or 8,887, yen further reduced from last year's raise of 3.86 percent, 10,835 yen (at 317 firms). Nikkeiren also noted that the increase was the lowest on record, following only the 3.44 percent of the 1987 endaka (high yen) recession.
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