The Tokyo Metropolitan Government agreed with its labor union Thursday to freeze a proposed wage hike for its entire staff for a year, officials said.
The move is viewed as the first major step taken by the local government to resolve its financial crisis by trimming internal expenses instead of putting the burden on taxpayers and Tokyo residents.
The wage freeze, which would affect some 190,000 public servants, is expected to save the metropolitan government about 15 billion yen. Earlier, the metropolitan government announced that its top officials, including Gov. Yukio Aoshima, would have their bonuses cut in December and March, but assembly members criticized Aoshima during the assembly session, saying the measure was merely a show to obtain "an indulgence."
Aoshima submitted to the assembly 16 bills to boost fees of public services, but outraged politicians rejected more than half of them Wednesday.
The metropolitan government's personnel commission recommended in October retroactive employee wage increases of 0.79 percent from April, but top officials have proposed that the labor union postpone the increase until April.