According to the EEF’s regular pay survey of its 6,000-strong members within the engineering, manufacturing and technology industries, the average level of wage increases in the manufacturing sector fell at an unprecedented rate to 1.8% in the three months to the end of January 2009, down from 2.7% within the previous period. The number of companies registering a pay freeze within the last recorded three-month period doubled to over 40% of all reported settlements, up from 20% of companies within the previously recorded three-month period. Furthermore, the number of companies deferring settlements almost trebled from just over 7% to over 20% in the last recorded period. The EEF claims this latest analysis flags up the seriousness of the recession’s impact on wages within the sector, given the fact that most pay settlements traditionally occur within the last recorded period to January. Of the 286 settlements (representing wages of 44,657 sector employees) recorded within this three-month period, 123 were registered at ‘zero’ (representing a pay freeze), whilst 21 were registered at pay increases between one and two percent, and 81 settlements at two to three percent. The remaining 61 settlements were recorded at 3% or more, according to the EEF’s figures.
) recorded within this three-month period, 123 were registered at ‘zero’ (representing a pay freeze), whilst 21 were registered at pay increases between one and two percent, and 81 settlements at two to three percent. The remaining 61 settlements were recorded at 3% or more, according to the EEF’s figures.
David Yeandle, EEF Head of Employment Policy commented: “The scale and speed of the reduction in settlements coupled with the rise in companies freezing or deferring pay demonstrates very star
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