Rengo's General Secretary Sasamori described the current situation concerning the revision of labour legislation and the Spring Struggle. He emphasised that wage increase and appropriate tax cut were prerequisite to the expansion of individual consumption, which was only trump card for the economic revival.

President Washio defined the current situation as a "We-told-you" recession. He criticised the Government not for following the Rengo's demand of tax reduction that had been made last year, which was the major cause of the recession. As regards the employers' position to repress wage level in return for employment security, he commented that there had never been any company that went into bankruptcy attributed to wage increase. He concluded that Rengo would go through the struggle taking into consideration the unorganised, stirring up the unions by saying, "DonŐt be huddled up in the recession."

Now the 1998 Spring Struggle is we are at the stage of submitting our demands. The current situation surrounding us is not so bright as characterised by large-sized bankruptcies that have been taken place repeatedly since last year and the economic recession that has not yet recovered nor even showed a sign of the recovery. First, today's recession is caused by low or discouraged consumption due to increased consumption tax and heavier burden of medical expenditure. Secondly, the recession is the result of the bubble economy that made undisciplined companies do everything as they pleased. In short, the recession is brought about by the failure in policies and management.

The Government does not make any effort to assume its responsibility. Employers do not reflect on what they have done during the bubble economy period and, in spite of this, they try to shift the entire burden to workers. Rengo, representing 55 million working people, is resolved to fight against employers' repressing wage increase.

We need a change in Government's policies to escape from the policy-caused recession. The Government should candidly recognize its failure and give the highest priority to the economic revival, not to the financial structural reform. What we believe is urgently necessary is to implement the countermeasures both to recover the consumption and to secure employment at the same time.

Rengo strongly demands 6 trillion-yen tax reduction, including permanent 3 trillion-yen reduction in income and inhabitant taxes and 1 trillion-yen special tax cut.

Even though "the recession" has been spoken repeatedly, the profit of enterprises has still been secured. On the other hand, workers' take-home pay is foreseen below the last year's one and our lives are getting worse.

Most employers are too much swayed by the thought of micro economy and loose the insight of the entire Japanese economy. We should not allow them to escape from the current situation only by cutting the labour cost. It is wrong to urge to choose between employment or wage increase.

Japan Federation of Employers' Association (Nikkeiren) insists that Japan is potent to achieve the 2% of economic growth. But what hinder Japan from this achievement are the employers' micro logic and the psychologically induced recession surrounding Japan. Our struggle is to break down these obstacles and open the window to a new perspective.

We must stress at the top of our voice our demand of wage increase and 4 trillion-yen tax cut. We demand the fair distribution of wage across industries by means of individual specific wage system. We demand the correction of the gap in working conditions. We demand the establishment of a new work rule leading to working hours reduction. We demand the security of pension and medical systems and the protection of the environment.

Now we have started our struggle. We should start up in workplace and the community, strengthening the cooperation with the unorganized, part-time workers and temp staff.