Recession sees slump in pay awards - News in brief - Evening Standard
       

Recession sees slump in pay awards

Average pay deals are running at just 1% after a slump in settlements, with many workers in private firms receiving no rise this year, new research has shown.

An analysis of 46 settlements for the quarter to July by Industrial Relations Services (IRS) showed that almost half involved a pay freeze.

Pay was frozen in manufacturing firms, while in the public sector settlements were worth an average of 2.3%, down from 2.5% in June.

Sarah Welfare of IRS said: "Pay awards have taken a far greater hit in the current recession than they did in the recessions of the 1980s and 1990s, our data suggests.

"All the evidence suggests that pay awards will remain subdued for the rest of 2009.

"With rising unemployment, a low minimum wage rise due in October and headline inflation in negative territory, the chances of higher pay rises for employees in the near future will be slim."

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