Secure a Wage Hike in Annual Spring Labor Offensive, 2010

　

On 5 February, JRU held the 32nd periodical central committee meeting, and decided on its demand in the spring labor offensive, called “Shun-to”, which was followed by “JRU Shun-to Seminar” held on 12 February. In both meetings, union members reached a unanimous decision on the goals of the fighting.

We hold up the following demands.
1. To win across-the-board pay increase of an amount of 2,000 yen as our unified demand and to improve the personnel system.
2. Improvement of labor conditions and correction of disparities of workers in JR group businesses.
3. To improve labor conditions for non-regular workers and give them permanent jobs.
4. To improve overtime pay and to realize work-life balance.

Annual Spring Labor Offensive is a traditional fighting of workers to win the wage increase. Every year all labor unions under the umbrella of Japanese Trade Union Confederation, Rengo, demand for a raise in wages and improvement of working conditions all together.

However, due to global economic crisis starting with Lehman shock, Japanese economy has plunged into deep recession. Failure of neo-liberal policies brought bottom deepening and widening disparity between the rich and the poor. Employment situation is still severe, and the number of the jobless is further increasing. Actual wages of Japanese workers has deteriorated for 10 consecutive years.

Under such conditions major unions in Rengo set a goal to “stop deterioration of wage scale” instead of placing an across-the-board wage-hike requirement. Unions that demand for wage increase are only a few including us, JRU. Last year JRU-affiliated unions doggedly fought against the respective companies, but we were forced to fail, facing harsh reality that major unions suffered debacle.

This year, in the unprecedented economic, financial crisis, in order to conquer the sluggish labor movement and to fight back against the crisis, JRU sets a unified across-the-board wage-hike demand of 2,000 yen and is determined to do its best in fighting.