Do collective bargaining institutions crowd out discussion and implementation of firm‐related training programs? Evidence from Japan

The paper empirically examines labor-management communication concerning in-house training programs and its relation to the actual on- and off-the-job training policy and wage structure. Using governmental datasets from Japan, we study how different labor-management communication institutions may affect the training interests of employers and employees differently. We classify these institutions in terms of whether they have a legal (i.e. statutory) foundation ('de jure') or not ('de facto'). We find that collective bargaining, with legal grounds, may crowd out employees' willingness to communicate about training. However, the existence of 'de facto' communication channels such as joint labor-management councils or shop floor committees is positively correlated with both on- and off-the-job of training. At the same time, the existence of unions is positively correlated with the steepness of wage profiles for mid-career workers, which is consistent with the fact that employers and employees assume a long-term relationship. Thus, we show that a multi-tiered structure of labor-management communication, together with a long-term orientation toward the employment relationship, contributes to strengthen employees' voice in training matters.