春闘回答 賃上げを景気回復の糸口に

The Yomiuri Shimbun (Mar. 15, 2013)
Wage hikes must be linked to economic recovery
春闘回答　賃上げを景気回復の糸口に（3月14日付・読売社説）

It seems the public's expectations for Abenomics--the Abe Cabinet's economic policy aimed at escaping from deflation--have had a positive impact on this year's shunto spring wage negotiations.
　デフレ脱却を目指す安倍内閣の経済政策「アベノミクス」への期待が、今年の春闘に好影響を与えたのだろう。

Workers' wages had been sliding in Japan for years, helping to prolong deflation. It is essential that these wage increases be linked to growth in consumption and economic recovery.
　日本では長年にわたり、賃金の下落傾向が続き、デフレが長期化する一因となってきた。賃上げを消費拡大と景気回復につなげることが重要である。

On Wednesday, major automakers and electronics makers responded to labor unions' demands regarding yearly bonuses and regular pay raises based on seniority. Their decisions influence trends in the annual spring labor offensives.
　春闘相場に影響を与える大手の自動車や電機各社は、定期昇給や年間一時金（ボーナス）を労働組合に一斉回答した。

Most major automakers, such as Toyota Motor Corp., said they will accept their unions' bonus demands in full. The average yearly bonus at such automakers has recovered to the level recorded in 2008, before the so-called Lehman shock. The automakers also acceded to the unions' demands on regular pay raises.
　トヨタ自動車など大半の自動車大手は一時金で満額回答し、リーマン・ショック前の２００８年以来の水準となった。定昇や、これに相当する「賃金制度維持分」でも組合の要求をのんだ。

Compared to automakers, business performance has varied recently among major electronics makers. As a result, there were differences in the electronics makers' responses to their unions' demands, but they all accepted the demands on regular pay raises.
　業績にばらつきがある電機では回答に差がついたが、定昇維持では足並みがそろった。

The outlook of labor-management negotiations has totally changed from last year, when some companies decided to forgo the regular pay raise and cut their employees' wages.
一部企業が定昇凍結や賃下げした昨年春闘からは様変わりだ。

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Management's policy shift

Initially, management took a hard-line stance before this year's shunto negotiations, stressing that certain companies may choose to postpone or forgo regular pay raises. Their policy shift is remarkable.
　経営側が当初、「企業によっては定昇の延期・凍結もありうる」と厳しい姿勢を見せていたのと比べると大きな転換と言えよう。

The underlying reason why the companies chose to accept the unions' demands is the rapid business recovery of export-oriented companies, such as automakers and electronics makers, boosted by the depreciation of the yen that took place after the launch of the Abe administration.
　その背景には、安倍政権誕生後に進んだ円安を追い風に、自動車や電機など輸出企業の採算が急速に改善している事情がある。

Requests by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and some Cabinet ministers during negotiations that companies increase workers' wages were also effective.
　加えて、安倍首相や閣僚が、春闘中、経営側に賃上げを要請したことも効果的だった。

Some company executives have acknowledged they took the government's requests into account. It is understandable for the labor unions to boast that they had a certain level of success in the negotiations.
　一部の経営側は首相らの要請を考慮したことを認めている。労働側が「一定の成果を確保した」と分析しているのはもっともだ。

Ahead the manufacturing industry, a number of convenience store chains, such as Lawson Inc., also raised their employees' wages. We want to praise the convenience store industry's decision to take the initiative in working to boost consumer spending.
　製造業に先立ち、ローソンなどコンビニエンスストア業界でも賃上げが相次いだ。個人消費のテコ入れに先鞭(せんべん)をつけようとしたコンビニ業界の決断も評価できる。

However, although the public's hopes for Abenomics are running high, Japan has yet to witness substantial recovery in the real economy.
　ただし、アベノミクスは期待感が先行しており、必ずしも実体経済は本格的に回復していない。

Few companies have promised to raise base pay, called "base-up" in Japanese, a uniform pay-scale increase that comes in addition to the regular pay raise. It is also unclear whether moves to raise wages will spread to small and midsize companies.
賃金を底上げするベースアップを行った企業はまだ少なく、中堅・中小企業に賃上げの動きが波及するかどうかは不透明だ。

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Recovery is yet to come

Depreciation of the yen will drive up the prices of fuel and imported raw materials. We have to be aware that certain industries, such as food services, will be buffeted by the headwind caused by such cost increases.
　円安進行は、燃料や輸入原材料価格の値上がりによるコスト高を招き、外食産業などの企業に逆風となることにも要警戒である。

Will the government be able to connect companies' moves to increase their employees' wages, which the nation has been longing for, to steady economic recovery and make it the beginning of a virtuous economic cycle? What matters is the government's effort to reinforce cooperation with the Bank of Japan to achieve this goal.
　大事なのは、ようやく出てきた賃上げの動きを着実な景気回復という好循環につなげていく政府・日銀の連携の強化だ。

The government plans to draw up by June its growth strategy, with policies such as practical implementation of regenerative medicine as its pillars. We hope the strategy will produce tangible results, such as strengthening the competitiveness of domestic companies and nurturing growing industries.
　政府は６月、再生医療の実用化などを柱とする成長戦略をまとめる方針だ。企業の競争力強化や、成長産業の育成など具体的な成果を期待したい。

Such moves should be taken in tandem with bold monetary easing and flexible fiscal policy to accelerate the rejuvenation of the Japanese economy.
　大胆な金融緩和と機動的な財政出動と併せ、日本経済の活性化を加速しなければならない。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, March 14, 2013)
（2013年3月14日01時34分 読売新聞）