Sunday May 27, 2012

JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION

Noda, ministers, senior vice ministers to take pay cuts to help with Tohoku reconstruction

Politics Oct. 29, 2011 - 06:55AM JST ( 16 )

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Japan's new PM Yoshihiko Noda will make his full debut on the international diplomatic stage at the G20 in November

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16 Comments

0

some14someOct. 29, 2011 - 08:27AM JST

They should take just 20~30% of salary till positive progress is reported from Fukushima and surrounding areas.
3

vctokyoOct. 29, 2011 - 09:15AM JST

leading by example..thats good to see.
0

CrazyJoeOct. 29, 2011 - 10:37AM JST

Noda and others still get paid in full every month, but they'll return a certain percentage to the national treasury.
1

timtakOct. 29, 2011 - 12:06PM JST

7.8% reduction in public servants’ salaries. The public servants are upset and the unions are fighting against it. As a public university teacher it is a bit sad. Pay is higher in the private sector. But I will not be campaigning against it. As this level of public debt laying off a lot of public employees may be on the cards and I would rather a pay cut. When it comes to the bureacrats...half my students want to become public employees. I think that public employee pay can be reduced a lot before there will be no takers.
1

smithinjapanOct. 29, 2011 - 12:56PM JST

My question is, how long do they plan on this pay cut? If they said 'for good' or until reconstruction is complete I would be impressed, but my guess is it will only be for a few months if that (save for the lowly workers who will have to suffer the cut for longer, and increased taxes). How about CUTTING a lot of the unnecessary public employees' jobs instead of forcing them to take a pay cut. There is a LOT of fat that could be trimmed in that department.
-2

nigelboyOct. 29, 2011 - 01:42PM JST

Smith,

To answer your question, it's 4 months. So I guess you've been donating 30% of your salary since the quake since you're not "impressed" with the recent move by the cabinet. (NOT!!!!)

Also, Japan has one of the lowest public employees per 1000 with barely over 30. (France over 80/ US over 77) I guess my question is if Japan needs "trimming", what do these countries need? Overhaul?

http://www.esri.go.jp/jp/archive/edis/edis180/e_dis179.pdf
-1

zichiOct. 29, 2011 - 01:42PM JST

smithinjapan,

it says in the post, until Mar.2014.
0

marcelitoOct. 29, 2011 - 02:02PM JST

I agree it's good to see him leadin by example an hope that they will be able to implement salary cuts over the rest of the overpaid public service.. If I'm not mistaken this measure was drafted when Kan was still the PM so credit to him for coming up with it..
1

smithinjapanOct. 29, 2011 - 03:59PM JST

nigelboy: "To answer your question, it's 4 months."

Exactly as I predicted, then (although as Zichi points out it was actually in the post... I just missed it).

"So I guess you've been donating 30% of your salary since the quake since you're not "impressed" with the recent move by the cabinet. (NOT!!!!)""

No, not at all. I have donated some money, yes, but not 30% of my salary. But it's the government making this big declaration about taking a pay cut for reconstruction, not me, and as such I stated that while it's a nice gesture it would be all the more impressive if they stuck to it until the reconstruction is complete (or at least the funds are secured).

As for public employees, if they're actually doing work then I say fine, but I'm referring to the old codgers who have 'retired' but get some cushy job doing little or nothing while the hard workers do everything for them.
1

smithinjapanOct. 29, 2011 - 04:00PM JST

Meant to add, it IS better than nothing, though.

And yes, Nigelboy, perhaps other nations DO need that overhaul. But let's stick with Japan for now.
0

PT24881Oct. 29, 2011 - 04:56PM JST

"zichiOCT. 29, 2011 - 01:42PM JST ... says in the post, until Mar.2014."

Donot really intend to make some posters unhappy, sorry but by Mar. , 2014, where would be the PM Noda & his team even by 2013 ?
0

Ranger_Miffy2Oct. 29, 2011 - 08:50PM JST

And how much of a paycut are the TEPCO executives taking?
-3

zichiOct. 29, 2011 - 08:58PM JST

Ranger_Miffy2,

20%
-2

Ivan CoughanoffalotOct. 30, 2011 - 12:03AM JST

This is all well and good, but I was talking to someone who works for a government agency today, and he told me that he, and everybody in his department "works" (sic) as a matter of course, whether they are busy or not, until at least 10:30 pm every night, and usually until after the last train has left - which makes it necessary for you and I, the taxpayers, to pay for their cab fare home.

This is not because there is any real pressing work to be done, you understand, but simply because a culture has developed wherein tens of thousands of bureaucrats have developed a routine of taking 14 hours to do a day's work.

It should go without saying that we taxpayers are also paying them double for every second they stay at their desk, doing nothing and doing it slowly, after 5:30 pm.

So although Mr Noda is paying a laudable bit of lip service to all doing our share, let nobody be in any doubt that this is just sugaring the pill for the tax hikes they're going to lumber us all with later in the year to subsidise all this waste. Not one yen in a thousand will make its way to the victims of our disaster. It'll buy plenty of cab rides and hostess bills, and if there's any left, some scraps might be tossed from the masters' table. To the yaks in situ in Tohoku.

This place is a feudal kharzi.
0

marcelitoOct. 31, 2011 - 10:21AM JST

Thanks for the "inside" point of view Ivan. Well said.
0

cactusJackOct. 31, 2011 - 11:56AM JST

Turn your back and they will ask for a pay raise. Oh, the irony!