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 Shunto is a Japanese term, usually translated as "spring [wages]
offensive", with the word "wages" sometimes substituted with livelihood,
labor or similar. It refers to the annual wage negotiations between the
enterprise unions and the employers. Many thousands of these unions conduct
the negotiations simultaneously from the beginning of March.
Shunto began in the 1940s and by the mid-1950s was a set feature in
industrial relations. Boosted by the militancy of the workers who brought
the cities of Japan to a halt every spring, it was key to boosting the
comparatively low wages of the 1940s and to improving conditions and other
benefits. The Trade Union Confederation, Rengo, customarily set a specific
target, "base-up", for the annual wage increases to aid the collective
bargaining. Negotiations for the enterprise unions tended to begin after the
bigger unions had secured their own deals, so they could push for their own
company to match the improvements, leading to across the economy wage
increases.
Since Japan has been in recession and deflation, with union membership
falling, the value of the Shunto and the automatic wage increases associated
with it have come under threat. The major unions in steel, electronics and
the automotive industry have been forced to restrict their demands and even
accept zero offers from the employers. The concern has become to protect
existing pay structures and jobs. With greater pressure on the workforce the
rise in karoshi and karo-jisatsu are worrying trends.
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