A125　  Fluid, flexible labor markets are one of the reasons for the fall in union membership. The sense of belonging to, or identifying with, a company has diminished and, to a greater extent, this also applies to unions. The result of the introduction of systems for merit-based pay increases means that staff have lost interest in group negotiations for pay raises. This is because they seem to believe that it is better to work hard to receive a pay increase than to rely on the union to get it for one. Young people often say that the labor movement is old-fashioned, or that they don't want to get too involved in company politics. The perceived bureaucratization of union officials and the conservative protection of vested interests by the unions is partly to blame. When former Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi started the process of privatiz-ing the post office, he raised the issue of the role of the unions in a roundabout way,  asserting that they were pressure groups clinging to vested interests.