Monitoring Desk
ISLAMABAD/TOYOTA City: Toyota Motor Corp, the leading international automaker, would accept a union demand for an increase in wages and bonus payments in total, two people familiar with the issue said on Wednesday, as Japan steps up calls for businesses to hike pay.
Toyota, one of Japan’s largest employers, has long served as the bellwether of the spring labour talks, which are in full swing at leading companies. Several are expected to conclude swiftly as the government seeks inflation-beating wage hikes to ease consumer burdens.
The base salary raised being sought was the highest in the past 20 years, the union federation representing 357,000 Toyota group employees has said, though it hadn’t detailed the size of the rise. The deal was struck after the first round of talks, according to the people not authorised to speak publicly.
The Asahi Shimbun newspaper, which first reported the agreement, said the union had sought one-off bonus payments worth 6.7 months of wages.
“We are aware the labour-management talks have concluded, but we are unable to provide information on the content of the negotiations at this moment,” a Toyota spokesperson told Reuters.
Toyota workers union
The “All Toyota Workers’ Union” is set to hold the media briefing later on Wednesday. The expected pay agreement comes as Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has stepped up calls on business leaders to accelerate wage raises, warning of the return to stagflation if pay increases fall short of the rapid price increase.
“We would boost consumption and expand domestic demand by promoting efforts toward structural wage raises,” Kishida said at a lower house budget committee session on Wednesday.
Fast Retailing Co Ltd, which owns clothing giant Uniqlo, said earlier it would boost pay by up to 40 percent, fuelling expectations big manufacturers would offer at annual wage talks with unions this spring.
The Video game maker Nintendo Co Ltd said earlier this month that it planned to lift workers’ base pay by 10 percent, despite trimming its full-year profit forecast.
