The annual spring wage negotiations known as "shunto" were effectively launched Wednesday when senior officials of the Japan Federation of Economic Organizations (Nippon Keidanren) and the Japanese Trade Union Confederation (Rengo) met in Tokyo.
"Polarization in people's income is developing," Rengo Chairman Tsuyoshi Takagi said at the start of the meeting. "I expect (management) to respect workers' efforts (in the wage talks)."
Responding to union demands, Nippon Keidanren Chairman Hiroshi Okuda said, "Desperate efforts by management and labor improved business performances last year, but I am concerned that we cannot expect significant achievements this year, with resource prices hovering at high levels."
During the meeting, Masaharu Shibata, vice chairman of Nippon Keidanren, suggested that some companies will agree to raise wages, reflecting an upturn in performance.
But he also expressed concern that companies are placing too much focus on performance-based personnel evaluations.
"We realize that we need to reward ordinary people, who are working sincerely," he said.
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