The Japan Labor Flash No.83
Email Journal May 1, 2007

Main Labor Economic Indicators
Current Topics
Unions of SMEs Gain Handsome Pay Hikes in this Year's Shunto
Negotiations
Annual Remuneration to Corporate Presidents Averages 31 Million
yen
Public Policies
MHLW Draws up Management Policies for Local Labor Administration
for FY2007
Japan-Thailand Sign Economic Partnership Agreement
News Clippings
Generation Close to Retirement Age Seriously Concerned about NEET
Children
Unions of Dockworkers and ANA Group Call Strikes
Special Issue
The Homeless of the Present

Current Topics

-Unions of SMEs Gain Handsome Pay Hikes in this Year's Shunto
Negotiations-
On April 12, the Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Joint Struggle
Center of Rengo (the Japanese Trade Union Confederation) published
the third-round revised compilation of the results of this year's
spring joint wage negotiations (shunto). The simple average of pay
hikes (including regular ones) agreed to by April 10 between 1,077
SME labor unions with fewer than 300 employees and their companies
was 4,679 yen, an increase of 1.85 percent. This was 281 yen, or
0.11 percentage points, higher than the figure marked the previous
year, suggesting that 55.1 percent of the unions that had received
responses from their companies succeeded in securing hikes of 4,500
yen or more, the amount that the Center required to maintain the
current wage curve.
In response to these results, the SME Joint Struggle Center on the
same day set up a minimum benchmark to back up small and medium-scale
unions which had not yet reached settlements: "the amount which can
maintain the existing wage curve" or "300 yen or more in addition to
the amount agreed last year" for those union members for which it is
possible to calculate the wage curve, and another benchmark of 4,800
yen or more for those for which it is not.

In the meantime, in the compilation of results which included
unions of large firms, published on the same day, the average response
to union demands according to the average wage increase method (2,366
unions with a total membership of 1.76 million) was 5,847 yen, an
increase of 1.93 percent. This was 304 yen, or 0.07 percentage points,
higher than the figure marked the previous year.
US$=119yen （May 1, 2007)

-Annual Remuneration to Corporate Presidents Averages 31 Million yen-
According to the findings of a "Survey of Directors' Remunerations
in 2006" published in April by the Sanro Research Institute Inc.,
the annual average remuneration paid to corporate presidents was 31
million yen. When asked about personnel posting for corporate executives
following retirement, 45.6 percent of the firms surveyed answered "it
depends on the individual," followed by use as "part-time counselors
or advisers" (24.8%); "full-time counselors or advisors" (18.4%); and
"complete retirement" (27.2%). The average annual remunerations of such
counselors and advisors were 8.23 million yen for full-timers and 3.54
million yen for part-timers.
The survey targeted a total of 3,500 firms: 1,500 listed companies
and 2,000 randomly selected unlisted companies (responses received
from 125 firms), asking them about their situation as of October 1,
2006.

Public Policies

-MHLW Draws up Management Policies for Local Labor Administration for
FY2007-
On March 30, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare drew up
management policies for local labor administration for fiscal year
2007. The management policies cite tasks for local labor administration:
(1) the realization of fair and varied working styles and the securing
of safety and a sense of security for workers; (2) the promotion of
employment policies to vitalize local communities; (3) assistance to
young people and others who wish to tackle something new; and (4) the
development of the balance of work and private life.

As priority issues, the policies refer to (1) the promotion of
partnership among various administrative bodies on measures to support
the rearing of the next generation and the employment of foreigners;
(2) the labor standards administration establishing work environments
where the safety and health of workers are secured and which permit
varied working styles; (3) the employment security administration
focusing on employment measures for the elderly and persons with
disabilities; (4) the equal employment opportunity administration
encouraging equal treatment, harmonizing of work and child-care, and
alleviation of unequal treatment of part-time workers in accordance
with the revised Equal Employment Opportunity Law, the Child Care
Leave Law, and the Law to Promote Measures to Assist the Rearing of
the Next Generation; (5) proper collection of labor insurance premiums;
and (6) active use of the individual labor dispute settlement system
to promote swift and appropriate settlements.

-Japan-Thailand Sign Economic Partnership Agreement-

At a summit meeting held on April 3, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and
Thai Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont signed a Japan-Thailand economic
partnership agreement. The pact will go into effect upon approval by
the legislatures of the two countries. It will phase out tariffs on
almost all products over 10 years following its enactment. They also
agreed to incorporate measures to encourage immigration; Japan will
relax the conditions for entry into Japan and working visas for Thai
cooks and instructors of Thai music, dance, and language. Regarding
immigration controls for Thai social caregivers, they decided to
discuss the issue further with an eye to reaching a conclusion within
two years.

News Clippings

-Generation Close to Retirement Age Seriously Concerned about NEET
Children-

It is reported that the number of people described as NEET has been
falling thanks to the general economic recovery. However, Mr. Akihiko
Higuchi, lecturer at Hosei University, explains further: "although it
is said that recruitment of regular employees has expanded with
improvement of the labor market thanks to economic recovery, this
simply applies to workers who are just graduating from school.
Employment opportunities for young people aged 25 or older who are
currently NEET are still limited, and quite a few will remain as they
are."

Nonprofit organizations assisting NEET persons to become financially
independent and get jobs have many visitors in their 20s and 30s in
more or less the same proportion - but there is also an increasing
number in their 40s. At the same time, an increasing number of parents
who are already retired or close to retirement age visit these
organizations seeking advice.

"More than a few people are worried about their NEET children, even
as they are busy taking care of their aged parents," says Ms. Takako
Kojima, Co-op educational coordinator at Rikkyo University. "An
increasing number of people are psychologically stressed and driven
into a corner because they face such intractable realities even as
the rest of their own lives steadily shortens."
(Nihon Keizai Shimbun, April)

-Unions of Dockworkers and ANA Group Call Strikes-

On April 8, the National Council of Dockworkers' Unions of Japan
(NCDUJ, membership approximately 30,000) and the Japanese Confederation
of Port and Transport Workers' Unions (membership approximately 3,300)
enforced a 24-hour strike (in some areas, strikes were called for
several hours only). Nowadays it is rare for unions to resort to strikes
during the course of spring joint wage negotiations, and this was the
first large-scale strike in eight years.

The industrial unions took such action because, during the course
of negotiations with their employer, the Japan Harbor Transportation
Association, they could not obtain any "positive responses" (according
to the NCDUJ) to their calls for the establishment of a fund for
sufferers of asbestos-related problems and a halt to wage cuts
accelerated in relation to various deregulations.

On April 11, on the other hand, the Air Nippon Crew's Association
(membership approximately 400) and three other labor unions comprised
of ANA group companies' pilots called a strike due to a failure to
reach settlements on working conditions in negotiations with their
companies. This was the first time since March last year for the
ANA group to go on strike. Together with ANA crew and pilots' unions,
the unions of pilots for three affiliated companies operating small
jet and propeller airplanes as ANA flights also went on strike. They
called on their companies to launch a system whereby crew members who
are only qualified as propeller plane pilots can also qualify as jet
plane pilots, and to respond to joint collective talks with the four
unions on security issues.
(Asahi Shimbun and Nihon Keizai Shimbun, April)

Special Issue

-The Homeless of the Present-
In April, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare published a
report on a nationwide survey on the situation of the homeless.
According to observations conducted along with the survey, the number
of homeless people across the country as of January 2007 totaled 18,564,
a drop of 6,732, or 26.6 percent, from the figure marked in the previous
survey in 2003. By prefecture, the figure is highest in Osaka, 4,911,
followed by 4,690 in Tokyo and 2,020 in Kanagawa: naturally enough,
a great number of homeless people are found in metropolitan areas.
30.7 percent live in parks; 30.4 percent by river beds; 16.82 percent
on roads; 4.9 percent in railway stations; and 17.2 percent in other
facilities.
Continued on;
http://www.jil.go.jp/english/archives/emm/2003/no.83/83_si.html