Nearly one in eight manufacturing companies reported that they had frozen pay during the three months to the end of December 2004, according to the latest pay settlement information from EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation.
In the same period the average level of pay settlements reported by manufacturing companies fell to 2.8 per cent and was the lowest level reported since August 2004.
The number of companies that had reported that they had deferred pay during the 3 months to the end of December 2004 also fell slightly to just over 4 per cent from the previous period’s figure of just over 5 per cent.
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David Yeandle, EEF deputy director of Employment Policy, said: “This…could be an indication of belt-tightening ahead of a more difficult year.
“[The figures] also indicate that many manufacturing companies continue to face competitive pressures that limit their ability to pass on cost increases in the form of higher pay settlements,” he said.
