INTERVIEW: Electronics Unions Hope to Lead Wage Hikes in Japan

Tokyo, March 1 (Jiji Press)--The Japanese Electrical, Electronic and Information Union aims to take the lead in pushing up salary levels in this year's "shunto" spring wage negotiations with management, the group's leader has said.

"We'll work hard to be a driving force," Masashi Jinbo, head of the umbrella body for labor unions at electronics makers, said in a recent interview, expressing his commitment to achieving wage increases that outpace rising living costs.

Despite sizable pay hikes achieved in recent shunto talks, Jinbo stressed that the rises have yet to catch up with inflation, saying, "Workers are increasingly worried about the difficulty of living and the future."

The umbrella body has set a unified demand for a pay scale hike of at least 18,000 yen per month in the 2026 shunto. This is the highest since the start of comparable data in 1998, exceeding last year's demand of at least 17,000 yen.

Regarding the negotiation environment, Jinbo said, "Generally speaking, (management) understands the importance of wage hikes."

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]