From inflation allowances to the reskilling of workers, firms in Japan are stepping up efforts to help employees fight rising prices and a labor crunch — even though some cannot afford pay hikes that would more than offset cost-push inflation.
As annual shuntō labor talks enter full swing, momentum from both labor and management is growing for firms to offer such hikes to cushion, even if not beat, consumer inflation, which hit a 41-year high of 4% in December.
At the spring session of the labor talks, set to wrap in mid-March, major firms, such as Toyota Motor Corp., negotiate with in-house unions to set wages for the coming fiscal year, which starts from April.