Dai-Ichi Life plans 5% wage hike in rare base increase for non-sales staff -source

As companies enter the annual spring wage negotiations with labour unions, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's government has been pushing for wage increases of at least 5% to help offset price rises.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Dai-ichi Life Insurance plans to raise wages by an average 5% for its roughly 50,000 workers this spring, including a rare base salary hike for non-sales staff, a source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.   

It would be the first base salary hike in 28 years for the 10,000 non-sales staff at the unit of Dai-ichi Life Holdings, the person said, declining to be identified because the plan is not public. The average 5% would include a regularly scheduled rise based on seniority.   

The base salary, or regular pay, makes up most of total cash earnings and determines a wage trend in Japan.   

A spokesperson said the company plans to make its decision through discussions with its labour union, adding that it aimed to achieve a "healthy cycle of distribution and growth" that the government is aiming for.   

(Reporting by Takaya Yamaguchi, writing by Mariko Katsumura; Editing by Hiroshi Hashimoto, Chang-Ran Kim and Louise Heavens)