国家公務員給与 ５５歳超の昇給抑制が必要だ

The Yomiuri Shimbun (Mar. 19, 2013)
Pay hikes for govt employees 55 or older must be curbed
国家公務員給与　５５歳超の昇給抑制が必要だ（3月18日付・読売社説）

Another step forward has been made in resolving issues put off by the previous Democratic Party of Japan-led administration.
　民主党政権が先送りしてきた課題の解決へ、また一歩進んだ。

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Cabinet has submitted a bill to the Diet to revise a law to drastically curb the pay hikes of central government employees aged 55 or older.
　安倍内閣が５５歳を超える国家公務員の昇給を大幅に抑制する給与法改正案を国会に提出した。

If the revised law is enacted, the new salary system will be put into force next January. About 33,000 people will be affected and the government's personnel expenses trimmed by an estimated 600 million yen a year.
　成立すれば、来年１月から施行され、３万３０００人が対象となる。年間約６億円の人件費を削減する効果があるという。

The bill takes into account recommendations made by the National Personnel Authority in August.
　給与法改正案は昨年８月の人事院勧告を尊重したものである。

Under the current system, salaries of central government employees rise every year until they reach the mandatory retirement age of 60.
　国家公務員は、定年の６０歳まで毎年昇給が続く仕組みだ。

The recommendation calls for annual pay hikes to be discontinued for those aged 55 or older and whose job performances are deemed average, while pay hikes would be permitted for those in the same age group with excellent job performances, although the margin of increase would be held down.
この勧告は、５５歳を超える職員に対し、標準の勤務成績であれば昇給を停止し、成績良好であっても昇給幅の抑制を求めた。

The salaries of many workers in the private sector decline when they reach the mid-50s.
　民間のサラリーマンは、５０歳代後半になると、賃金が減るケースさえ少なくない。

This is because companies transfer workers in that age group to affiliated companies or have a mandatory age for managers to step down from their posts. It is therefore appropriate to have the salaries of government employees fall more in line with those at private companies.
関連会社への転籍や役職定年などを実施しているからだ。公務員給与を民間の動向に近づけるのは、妥当である。

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Rehiring workers

Continued employment of workers who reach the manadatory retirement age of 60 should also be considered as they will not receive benefits from the state-run pension plan until they reach the age of 65.
　６５歳の年金支給開始年齢までの雇用継続も考える必要がある。

The government plans to make it obligatory to rehire employees who reach the mandatory retirement age and are willing to continue working. However, the fiscal situation remains dismal.
政府は、希望する定年退職者の「再任用」を義務化する方針だが、財政は厳しい。

To reduce personnel expenses as much as possible, it is essential to hold down the salaries for those in their 50s.
総人件費を極力抑えるためにも、５０歳代の給与水準を下げておかねばならない。

Both the ruling and opposition parties must pass the revised bill as quickly as possible.
　与野党は、改正案を速やかに成立させるべきだ。

The DPJ is to blame for wasting so much time before the bill could be submitted.
　法案提出まで時間を浪費した責任は民主党にある。

The Cabinet under then Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda failed to act on the authority's recommendation for three months, deciding only to postpone the recommended restrictions on the annual pay hike on Nov. 16, the day he dissolved the House of Representatives.
野田内閣は人事院勧告を３か月も放置し、１１月１６日の衆院解散当日になって昇給抑制の先送りを閣議決定した。

In announcing the decision, Noda said the government had already taken "a harsh pay-cutting measure" by lowering government employees' salaries by 7.8 percent on average, so it could use the saved funds for post-disaster reconstruction.
　その際、復興財源を捻出する目的で給与を平均７・８％引き下げる「厳しい減額措置」を講じているため、と説明していた。

However, the real reason is that the government submitted to the Diet a bill related to reforming the national public employees system, which we think stopped the administration from dealing with the recommended curbs.
だが、実際は国家公務員制度改革関連法案を国会に提出していたことが、足かせとなったのではないか。

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Working with unions

The main feature of the new bill gives central government employees the right to conclude an agreement with the government, a basic legal labor right.
　この法案は、労働基本権の一部である「協約締結権」を国家公務員に付与することが柱だった。

The bill includes the idea that issues such as pay levels can be decided through labor-management talks, and the National Personnel Authority can be abolished. Because of this, the Noda administration probably decided to ignore the authority's recommendations.
人事院を廃止し、労使交渉で賃金などを決定できるようにする内容であるだけに、勧告には従えないと考えたのだろう。

How will the DPJ deal with the bill to revise the salaries of central government employees in the days ahead?
　今後、民主党は給与法改正案にどう対応するのか。

The bill is in line with the DPJ's manifesto when it comes to cutting the central government's personnel expenses. As it will also affect the wages of local government employees, however, it will be difficult for DPJ legislators supported by the All Japan Prefectural and Municipal Workers' Union and other labor groups to support the bill.
国家公務員の総人件費削減という点では民主党の政権公約とも一致するが、地方公務員にも波及するため、自治労など労働組合の支援を受ける議員は容易に受け入れまい。

The Japanese Trade Union Confederation (Rengo), a key support organization for the DPJ, has opposed the Abe Cabinet's request for the salaries of local government employees to be lowered, in line with those of central government employees, in fiscal 2013.
　民主党の支持団体である連合は、安倍内閣が２０１３年度の地方公務員給与を国家公務員と同様に引き下げるよう地方自治体に要請したことにも反発している。

The DPJ's dependency on labor unions will be tested once again over how the party responds to the bill to revise the salaries of central government employees.
　給与法改正案への賛否によって、民主党の“労組依存度”が改めて試されることになろう。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, March 18, 2013)
（2013年3月18日01時29分 読売新聞）