NAGOYA: Toyota Motor Corp. President Akio Toyoda signaled the company’s readiness on Wednesday to fully meet demands from its labor union in this spring’s wage talks.

The Japanese automaker’s management aims to reward employees sufficiently for their efforts over the past year, Toyoda said in a meeting with the labor union.

“There are no differences of opinions between the company and the labor union over wages and bonuses,” Toyoda said.

It is unusual for a company’s management to signal its readiness to fully meet demands from its labor union in the first round of their “shunto” annual wage negotiations.

Toyoda apparently wants to focus the shunto talks on issues other than wages, including challenges facing the auto industry. Toyota’s approach is expected to affect shunto negotiations at other companies.

Toyota Motor Workers’ Union demands a wage increase of between 1,600 yen and 4,900 yen per month per employee and an annual bonus equivalent to 6.9 months’ pay. The management is scheduled to make a formal response on March 16.

Katsuyoshi Nishino, chairman of the labor union, said that he thinks the comments by Toyoda reflect his desire to discuss how to resolve challenges.

JIJI Press