Asia Times: Job security now, pay hikes later



	April 23, 1999	atimes.com

Japan Economy

Job security now, pay hikes later
By Suvendrini Kakuchi

TOKYO - Hiroshi Mita thinks his being a specializedtechnology engineer has spared him from being laid off, a fatesuffered by many of his middle management colleagues. But he isnot taking any chances.

In a country where overtime is but the regular office routine,the balding 50-year-old is putting in more hours than ever at thebig electronics firm where he has spent more than half his life.

And he is not about to complain, even if he is not getting extracompensation for much of his overtime toil. At least, Mitareasons, ''I seem to be surviving the drastic restructuringefforts in the company."

Mita is not the only Japanese employee to resort to such job-saving tactics. As corporations across the country downsize,workers are agreeing to even longer hours and minimal raises -sometimes even pay cuts - just so they can remain employed.

Indeed, during the annual labor contract bargaining period inMarch, unions representing more than three million Japaneseworkers settled for the lowest wage increases in two years - 2.16percent, down from the initial demand of three percent.

According to Tadashisa Oyanagi, representative of the 300,000-strong metal workers union, labor understands the severe businessconditions stemming from the country's worst postwar recessionyet.

''The situation is so bad,'' he says. ''We cannot expect more.We therefore did not press too hard for wage hikes, but rathernegotiated on the basis of working together toward building up thecompany."

Labor experts say the non-confrontational relationship betweenlabor and management in Japan can be traced partly to therelatively egalitarian way in which companies in this country arerun.

For example, they note, there is less of a gap in wages betweencompany chiefs and workers here than elsewhere. It is also notuncommon to see managers sitting beside younger staff.

''Many managers actually spent time in their company unionswhen they were younger, so the negotiation climate is verydifferent from other countries,'' says analyst Yasuo Ishida of theJapan Labor Institute. ''You will not see too many Japaneseworkers resorting to violent demonstrations to get what theywant."

Thus, even as more and more companies are laying off workers bythe thousands in order to remain competitive, protests from laborgroups are almost non-existent.

Rather, the emphasis has been on negotiations for more secureemployment, as well as better conditions accompanying layoffs.

In truth, there is marked reluctance among the companiesthemselves to let go of their workers, even if conditions havemade it imperative for them to do so.

Corporate Japan, after all, has a tradition of lifetimeemployment, and managers would much rather look for other ways tocut costs besides trimming their workforces.

Says Ishida: ''Japan is different from the United States.Restructuring here is based on the Japanese emphasis on protectingpeace and harmony in society."

For many firms, though, slashing salaries has provedinadequate to keep their operations going.

Official statistics show that Japan's number of unemployed roseto a record 2.98 million people in January this year, or a rate of4.4 percent. That marks a slight increase from the 4.3 percentunemployment rate posted just in December.

Labor analysts expect the situation to worsen next year asJapanese companies struggle to balance their books in the midst ofthe economic crisis and escalating market competition.

This is why when labor leaders speak of ''better laborconditions'' these days, they are often referring to post-employment conditions for laid-off workers. This includes improvedseverance packages as well as a system of sharing information withemployers that will allow workers to find new jobs.

''While the negotiations are not easy, we must aim to developan employment guarantee system with the cooperation ofcompanies,'' says one union leader. ''This is the best way toease the severity of the current crisis."

At the same time, the union representative reckons that perhapsnow is the time for Japanese workers to become less dependent oncompanies to keep them ''safe'' and their families worry-free.

''Workers have to be more independent,'' he argues, ''and wemust force politicians to build a society that helps to nurturethis fundamental change as well as provide support when there areproblems."

Such a transformation will not happen overnight. But there arealready subtle changes taking place, albeit forced bycircumstances.

Hiroshi Mita's wife, Kyoko, for instance, says their family issetting aside even more money nowadays despite the lack of asignificant increase in Mita's salary in the past six years.

And while salarymen's wives are supposed to stay at home, Kyokosays she has taken a part-time job as a waitress to add to thefamily income. Even their eldest daughter worked last winter topay her own way for a school ski trip.

(Inter Press Service)

back to the top

©1999 Asia Times Online Co., Ltd.