Outcomes of reverse proposals by the management of major electric companies following the spring labor offensive negotiations

(1) Major general electric machinery and equipment companies drew extensive media attention when their management proposed emergency measures, such as freezing annual wage increases and reducing wages, after the companies' labor and management had agreed to maintain the existing wage system at this year's spring labor offensive (see JLF Vol. 16).

The contents of the labor-management agreement were as follows:
・Fujitsu will freeze wage hikes for five months from September 21. It will also reduce overtime premium rates from the current 30% to the legally stipulated minimum of 25% for a period of one year in the new fiscal year, until March 21, 2003. Holiday premium rates will be reduced from the existing 45% to 35%, and those for nighttime work, from 35% to 25%.

・For this fiscal year only, Mitsubishi Electric will designate seven days out of the annual legally designated work days as unpaid "specially-agreed holidays," and cut wages accordingly.

・ Matsushita Electric Industrial will postpone implementing general employees' annual wage increases for six months, until October 2002.

・NEC will postpone the implementation of wage increases to October 1, and cut the premium rate for overtime pay from the existing 30% to 25%.
(Source: Shukan Rodo News, April)

(2) Hitachi Corp.'s labor and management agreed to an average 5% cut in employees' standard wages beginning June. The wage cuts will be implemented for a limited period of one year. Hitachi's labor union has 47,000 members, and the average standard wage for last fiscal year was 289,400 yen. The employees will suffer actual wage reductions of about 3% after the April pay hike agreed upon at this year's spring labor offense. Those holding managerial posts (section managers and above) will also have their wages cut by 5% (as compared with pre-revised wages) for the same one-year period. Similarly, board directors' monthly salaries, which had already been reduced in September 2001, were cut again in March.
(Nikkei Sangyo Shimbun, April)