Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. and NEC Corp. are negotiating with their labor unions to postpone regular pay raises for their rank-and-file employees for six months beginning April 1, industry sources said Friday.

The companies agreed on regular salary increases earlier this week during their annual wage negotiations for the 2002 business year.

Toshiba Corp. and Fujitsu Ltd. may also make similar proposals to their labor unions, the sources said.

The moves by Matsushita and NEC are being taken because the companies feel their businesses are unlikely to recover quickly in the coming business year due to the prolonged slump in the information-technology field.

The labor unions have basically agreed to the postponement and are likely to accept it by the end of the month, the sources said.

Meanwhile, Hitachi Ltd. recently proposed a 5 percent wage cut for employees in nonmanagerial positions to be implemented for one year beginning April 1. The pay cut would be separate from an annual wage deal struck Wednesday.

The trend suggests that the traditional practice of employers and employees negotiating wage hikes in one-shot talks every spring has fallen out of favor.

According to the sources, Matsushita's postponement will affect about 57,000 employees at the parent firm and its five major group companies, including Matsushita Communication Industrial Co.

Separately from the postponement, Matsushita is also seeking a cut in overtime pay as an emergency measure, the sources said.

NEC's plan of postponing regular pay hikes will affect about 21,000 of its employees.

Toshiba said postponing regular pay hikes for half a year is "one of its options," and Fujitsu said it is considering what kind of steps to take.

Both say they will decide on concrete measures by the end of this month.

Strategy questioned

Labor minister Chikara Sakaguchi on Friday questioned the strategy of firms that propose pay cuts after striking annual wage deals with labor unions.

"It may run counter to normal rules if various (pay cut) proposals are presented after wage deals are done," the minister of health, labor and welfare told a news conference.

Sources at Hitachi Ltd. said Thursday that the firm has hit its labor union with a proposal to cut wages by 5 percent for one year beginning April 1 -- a proposal issued separately from a wage deal struck with the union Wednesday.

Other companies look set to follow suit.

Sakaguchi said he wants firms and unions to conduct smooth negotiations on wage issues.

Meanwhile, Heizo Takenaka, state minister in charge of economic and fiscal policy, said the decision of most companies to offer no pay-scale increases beyond standard yearly hikes was appropriate.

"Wages are actually rising in real terms as prices are falling," Takenaka told a separate news conference.

On Wednesday, managers at companies in the automobile, electronics, steel, and heavy machinery industries presented labor unions with their most meager spring wage offers in years.