Average earnings for engineers and craftsmen rose by 5.7 per cent last year.
Research by Remuneration Economics of 11,000 engineers and more than 500 craftsmen in 110 organisations (including Rolls-Royce, Siemens and Thames Water) shows that earnings to July 2002 were £26,729 for engineers and £17,435 for craftsmen.
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Nearly half the sample (45 per cent) had been paid a bonus – up from 37 per cent in 2001. But the average value of bonuses fell from £2,273 to £1,768 for engineers, and from £1,381 to £975 for craftsmen.
Just under one in five (19.6 per cent) are eligible to receive a company car.
Despite these generous pay increases, the survey suggests there are actually “increasing problems with recruitment and retention” in the sector. www.celre.co.uk