Tateshi Mori (Faculty of Economics, University of Tokyo)
Abstract
This paper tries to trace the way in which various methods were used in the payment of wages in Yawata Steel Works from 1900s to 1930s. The widely held idea behind the wage payment in the post WW‡U Japanese society has required companies to pay wages which not only guarantee the amount of money sufficient to lead a family life according to his/her social status but also reflect the ability and performance of each employee. The predecessors of this idea will be found in the personnel practices of companies before the WW‡U. The development of wage system in Yawata Steel Works, along with those implemented in the National Railways and ship-building works, will represent the case which will show how a wage policy which gave employees both the guarantee of standard life style and the incentives for higher efficiency was developed at an enterprise level. By the rule of the Steel Works, all the workers were supposed to receive wages calculated on a fixed daily wage rate which varied among workers corresponding to his experience and skill. This wage system resembled the time wages dominant in U.S.A in that wages were paid for the days workers were engaged in operations, but differed from the American system in that no hourly wage rate was fixed. A day rate fixed for each worker was reviewed occasionally, and in some times managers granted an increase in the rate. The daily wage rate was quite effectual in giving workers the stability of daily life but rather weak in making them work harder. The weakness of the daily wage rate system in giving work incentives became apparent soon after the Works started the system in 1900. The Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905 created an opportunity for the Works to expand its production. To meet the growing demand, the managers of some rolling mills felt it necessary to use incentive plans to increase production. Under the condition where the maintenance of daily wage rate was mandatory, they had recourse to a method which combined the daily wage rate with premium bonus. Ten years later, another war necessitated the adoption of various kinds of incentives and benefits along with the daily wage rate. After years of implementing incentive plans in various mills, incentive wage system gradually became an integral part of the wage system of the Works. Some times a group piece rate system with the minimum guarantee of the daily wage rate was implemented, and in other cases the combination of the daily wage rate system and group incentive systems was preferred. In this way, the need to guarantee the standard life and the call for incentives were met in the payment of wages.
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Publisher Info
Paper provided by CIRJE, Faculty of Economics, University of Tokyo in its series CIRJE J-Series with number
CIRJE-J-148.