Wage system - Chingin taikei

This is also called a wage system, and shows what combination of wage payment items the wage of an individual worker is made up of, and how each wage item is calculated. Wage payment items can be broadly divided into standard wages for regular working hours and non-standard wages (various allowances) paid for overtime work, etc. The majority of wages are made up of standard wages, and the overwhelming majority of these are basic wages. Therefore, the calculation method of basic wages determines the type of wage system. There are three types of calculation of basic wages: those that focus on personal factors such as age, years of service, and educational background (personal wages), those that focus on work factors such as duties, abilities, and work performance (job wages), and those that take these factors into consideration comprehensively (comprehensive wages). Wage systems are classified into two types: single-type systems that adopt one of these systems, and dual-type systems that adopt a combination of these systems. By the way, standard wages include work allowances and living allowances in addition to basic wages. The wage structure is the specific monetary value of each of these components. The selection and weighting of each wage payment item varies from company to company, and accordingly the wage system also differs from company to company.

The term "wage system" is unique to Japan and is not used in Western Europe. In Western Europe, there are various additional benefits, but they are usually distinguished as something separate from wages. In Japan, on the other hand, they are all lumped together under the term "wage," and this wage practice is the basis for the creation of the term "wage system."

It was during and after the Second World War that the number of items paid for wages increased and complicated wage systems were adopted. Behind this was a wage policy that responded to wartime inflation and demands for wage increases by labor unions after the war by keeping basic wages as constant as possible and increasing or establishing temporary allowances such as family allowances. In response to this, in October 1946, Densan (Japan Electrical Industrial Workers' Union) proposed a wage system based on the theoretical cost of living calculation method (Densan-type wage system), and it has since become widely used. This wage system was a living wage system that modified the seniority-based wage system that had been in place since the prewar period with a focus on minimum living security, and reflected the interests of workers by eliminating arbitrariness of capital as much as possible. However, since the 1960s, it has changed with the introduction of job-based and skill-based wages, and gradually moved to a job-based wage system while taking various forms. However, the seniority element continued to exist because the qualification system linked to job wages relied on personal factors such as age and years of service in actual operation, and because wage revisions had to take into consideration people's lifestyles. Since the 1990s, as momentum for a full-scale review of the seniority system has been building, a review is underway to remove as much of the seniority element as possible from wages and to thoroughly focus on job elements such as job performance ability.

[Toshikazu Yokoyama]

"Takagi Toshio and Fukami Kensuke, 'Wage Systems and Labor Unions', Vol. 1 and 2 (1974, 1975, Labor Junposha)" ▽ "Research Report on Wage System Models Adapted to the Age of Aging, compiled by the Association for Employment Development of the Elderly" (1995, Association for Employment Development of the Elderly)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

個々の労働者の賃金がどのような賃金支払項目の組合せから成り立っているか、各賃金項目はどのような算定方法によるのかを示すもので、給与体系ともいう。賃金支払項目は大別すると、所定労働時間に対する基準内賃金と、超過勤務などに対して支払われる基準外賃金（諸手当）とに分けられる。賃金の大部分は基準内賃金によって構成されており、しかも、その圧倒的部分を基本給が占める。したがって基本給の算定方法が賃金体系の型を規定する。基本給の算定には、年齢、勤続年数、学歴などの属人的要素を中心とするもの（属人給）、職務、能力、勤務成績などの仕事的要素を中心とするもの（仕事給）、それらを総合勘案するもの（総合給）の三つがある。そして、賃金体系は、このうちの一つを採用する単一型体系と、それらを組み合わせて採用する併存型体系の2種類に分類される。ちなみに、基準内賃金には、この基本給以外に勤務手当、生活手当などが含まれる。そして、これらの各構成項目を具体的に金額で示したものが賃金構成である。各賃金支払項目の選定とウェイトづけはそれぞれの企業によって異なり、それに応じて賃金体系も企業ごとに異なった形をとる。

　賃金体系という用語は日本独特のもので、西欧では用いられていない。西欧にもさまざまな付加的給付があるが、通常、賃金とは別のものとして区別されている。これに対して、わが国では、賃金のもとに一括されており、こうした賃金慣行が賃金体系なる用語を生み出す根拠となっている。

　賃金支払項目が増大し、複雑な賃金体系をとり始めたのは、第二次世界大戦中から終戦後にかけての時期である。その背後には、戦時インフレ、終戦後の労働組合による賃上げ要求に対して、基本給は可能な限り据え置き、家族手当などの臨時諸手当の増額・新設によって対応してきた賃金政策があった。これに対し、1946年（昭和21）10月、電産（日本電気産業労働組合）が、理論生計費算定方式を基礎に組み立てた賃金体系（電産型賃金体系）を提起し、以後、広範な普及をみた。この賃金体系は、戦前以来の年功賃金体系を最低生活保障を軸に修正した生活給体系で、資本の恣意(しい)性を極力排除するなど労働者の利益を反映したものであった。しかし1960年代以降、職務給、職能給の導入とともに変質が進み、多様な形態をとりつつしだいに仕事給体系への移行が進んだ。しかし仕事給とリンクした資格制度が実際の運用では年齢・勤続年数など属人的要素に依存してきたこと、賃金改訂にあたって生活へ配慮せざるをえなかったことなどもあって、年功的要素は存続し続けた。1990年代以降、年功制度の本格的な見直しの気運が高まるなかで、賃金においてもこれまでの年功的要素をできるだけ取り除き、職務遂行能力など仕事的要素を徹底させる方向での見直しが進められている。

［横山寿一］

『高木督夫・深見謙介著『賃金体系と労働組合』上下（1974、75・労働旬報社）』▽『高年齢者雇用開発協会編『高齢化時代に適合した賃金体系モデルに関する調査研究報告書』（1995・高年齢者雇用開発協会）』

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