By Makiko Yamazaki
TOKYO (Reuters) – A Japanese labour union group representing major manufacturers said on Thursday its members are demanding a record increase in their base pay for this year, building on last year’s momentum amid rising living costs.
The Japan Council of Metalworkers’ Unions (JCM) is considered a pace-setter for annual wage negotiations and represents about 2 million workers for blue chip companies including Toyota Motor, Panasonic and Nippon Steel.
According to the JCM, the average increase in monthly base salary sought by its members so far stands at 14,149 yen ($95), the highest figure since 2014 when the group started compiling comparable data.
That is 14% more than the average base pay rise that was demanded as of February last year.
The data is based on a poll of nearly half of JCM’s 3,050 union members who have already submitted their requests.
The increase in base pay is regarded as crucial to progress towards Japan’s stated goal of achieving sustainable wage growth which exceeds the rate of core inflation, currently above 3%.
Base pay rises exclude the seniority-based automatic annual increase already built into the pay scale.
Japan’s largest labour union group, Rengo, of which JCM is a member, is seeking an overall increase in wages of at least 5% in 2025, including a rise in the base pay of at least 3%.
Japanese companies agreed to an average 5.1% hike in overall wages last year, the biggest increase in three decades.
($1 = 149.2900 yen)
(Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Rachna Uppal)
