Labor unions at automakers submitted their annual wage hike demands Wednesday, requesting pay-scale increases at Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. for the first time in four years.

The automakers' management teams will respond by mid-March.

The unions at Toyota and Honda did not demand pay-scale hikes for the past three years, citing competition from low-cost foreign companies.

However, robust earnings have prompted the unions to seek pay-scale hikes for fiscal 2006, which starts in April. They asked for a 1,000 yen monthly hike.

At Nissan Motor Co., the union asked management to spend 7,000 yen per employee to improve wages. The company has introduced a new wage system that does not contain a seniority-based pay scale.

The Honda and Nissan unions asked for record high bonuses. At Toyota, on the other hand, the bonus request comes to an annual average of 2.37 million yen, down 70,000 yen from the previous year.

At Mitsubishi Motors Corp., now under reconstruction after defect coverups, the union has kept away from seeking any pay-scale hike.

The union at Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. has only asked for pay hikes for middle managers, reflecting sluggish sales.

Hitachi, Toshiba action

Labor unions at Hitachi Ltd. and Toshiba Corp. submitted requests for annual wage negotiations with management Wednesday, featuring a monthly pay increase of 2,000 yen.

The pay hike request is the first in five years by labor unions among leading electric and electronic equipment makers.

Other core members of the Japan Council of Metal Workers' Unions, including unions at major automakers, steelmakers and shipbuilders, have already submitted pay hike requests, but the demands by the Hitachi and Toshiba unions mark the full-scale launch of annual labor-management negotiations, in which the council plays a pace-setting role.