In
the three months to the end of December 2002 pay settlements in the engineering
and manufacturing pay sector have remained at 2.5 per cent – the same figure
reported for the previous three-month period, according to the latest figures
from the Engineering Employers’ Federation (EEF).
Over
the same period, the number of pay freezes increased to more than 1 in 7 of all
reported settlements and those companies reporting that they had deferred pay
settlements rose slightly to almost 9 per cent.
EEF
deputy director of employment policy David Yeandle said: “This is a relatively
quiet period for engineering pay settlements but next month’s data will include
information for January 2003 which is the month when, historically, the largest
number of pay settlements occur in engineering and manufacturing.
"This
next set of figures is therefore likely to have a major impact on settlement
levels for at least the first half of the year.”
Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance
Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday
The
January 2002 Pay Bulletin analyses 193 settlements affecting 14, 023 employees.
Of these, the average level of settlements was 2.5 per cent in October,
2.6 per cent in November and, based on
a relatively small sample, 2.0 per cent in December.
