Fast Retailing to pay Uniqlo workers in Japan up to 40 per cent more as living costs bite

Name: Frenzied scenes in China as fans scramble to buy Uniqlo’s Kaws collection
Uploaded: 2023-01-11T22:00:16.000Z
Duration: 1 min 21 s
Description: Frenzied scenes in China as fans scramble to buy Uniqlo’s Kaws collection

Japan has urged companies to raise wages amid rising living costs, and Uniqlo’s move is expected to affect annual wage negotiations across the country

The casual clothing chain operator joins other large companies moving to hike wages amid public concern over inflation

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Passers-by walk past a Uniqlo store in Tokyo. Photo: EPA-EFE

Kyodo

Published: 6:00am, 12 Jan 2023

Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing said on Wednesday that it will raise the annual salaries of its workers in Japan by up to 40 per cent in March, in an effort to narrow the pay gap with its employees overseas and increase the company’s global competitiveness.

The casual clothing chain operator joins other large companies moving to hike wages amid public concern over prices continuing to rise and bite Japanese households’ pocketbooks.

Due to the revision of its pay system covering its 8,400 full-time employees, Fast Retailing’s domestic labour costs are expected to increase by around 15 per cent.

Pedestrians walk in front of a Uniqlo store operated by Japan’s Fast Retailing in Tokyo on January 11, 2023. Photo: AFP

Starting monthly salaries for university graduates will be increased to 300,000 yen (US$2,300) from the current 255,000 yen, an annual pay hike of about 18 per cent, the company said.

The monthly salaries of new store managers, who are typically first- or second-year employees, will be 390,000 yen, up by 100,000 yen and an increase of around 36 per cent annually. The annual earnings of other employees will also be increased by up to 40 per cent, according to the company.

The Japanese government has urged companies to raise wages amid rising living costs, and the global clothing giant’s move is expected to affect the annual shunto spring wage negotiations between management and labour across Japan.

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Frenzied scenes in China as fans scramble to buy Uniqlo’s Kaws collection

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno welcomed Fast Retailing’s decision and said he hopes other companies will follow suit and raise wages “to the maximum extent”.