A Japanese labor union of workers at small and medium-sized manufacturing companies is planning to demand a record monthly pay increase of at least 21,500 yen, or around 138 US dollars, next spring.
The Japanese Association of Metal, Machinery, and Manufacturing Workers, or JAM, has about 390,000 members. It is part of Japan’s largest labor group, the Japanese Trade Union Confederation, or Rengo.
The head of JAM, Yasukochi Katahiro, announced the proposed target for next year’s wage negotiations at a news conference on Thursday.
The monthly increase of 21,500 yen would be the highest demand in wage talks since JAM was launched in 1999. It is 10.3 percent higher than the figure that was sought this spring.
Rengo has secured monthly pay raises in the 5 percent range for the past two years, but the wage gap between larger companies and smaller firms continues to widen.
Yasukochi said JAM will fight patiently in the spring campaign with the aim of putting a brake on the widening income gap. He said JAM will work out a negotiation strategy after getting input from members who are struggling to make ends meet with the rising cost of living.
JAM plans to hold discussions at each of its member unions before formally adopting the proposed target at a central committee meeting in January.