The Japan Business Federation, or Keidanren, on Tuesday released guidelines for its member companies on this year’s shuntō spring wage negotiations, urging them to consider pay scale hikes.
In the guidelines, Keidanren stressed that the business group and its member companies have a social responsibility to contribute to the formation of a robust middle class and the realization of structural wage increases by ensuring that the momentum for wage increases, which was seen in the past two years, takes root broadly in society.
Keidanren vowed to make every effort for the continuation of wage increases to cope with rising prices.
Member companies were urged to raise wages in a manner appropriate to each company through sincere discussions with the labor side.
The business group emphasized that it is increasingly important to implement structural wage increases at small and midsize companies, which account for about 70% of employment in the country, and to raise wages and improve working conditions for fixed-term workers, who account for nearly 40% of all workers in the country.
It also pointed out that reasonable price hikes are essential for small and midsize businesses to raise wages.
