Japan's labour unions confirm three-decade-high wage hikes of 3.8% (updated)
17/03/2023 08:36
(Adds details of Rengo survey, background)
By Kantaro Komiya and Tetsushi Kajimoto
TOKYO, March 17 (Reuters) - Japan's major companies have
agreed at their annual labour talks with average wage hikes of
3.8% for the coming fiscal year, the largest raise in about
three decades, trade union confederation Rengo said on Friday.
The preliminary survey of 805 unions affiliated with Rengo
showed the average hike rate of 11,844 yen ($89) per month,
according to the labour organisation.
While changes in the way the survey is conducted make it
difficult to compare with historical data before 2013, the
average pay hike of more than 3% is achieved for the first time
since 1994, Rengo officials told a news conference on the spring
wage talks.
Top Japanese firms agreed to their largest pay rises in a
quarter century at the talks that wrapped up on Wednesday,
heeding, at least for now, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's call
for higher wages to offset rising living costs. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N35N06Y
Rengo, also known as the Japanese Trade Union
Confederation, will update the pay negotiation results in
several stages before compiling the final results in summer.
($1 = 133.0700 yen)
(Reporting by Kantaro Komiya and Tetsushi Kajimoto, Editing by
Angus MacSwan)
((tetsushi.kajimoto@thomsonreuters.com; +81-3-6441-1829;))