United Kingdom - Pay freezes in private sector show clear downward trend - May 4, 2010

New figures published in the Labour Research Department’s Workplace Report, based on LRD’s database of negotiated settlements, show that pay freezes in the private sector have begun on a clear downward trend, while pay medians (midpoints) are slowly rising. According to LRD, the median negotiated pay increase in the three months to April 2010 was 2%, with pay freezes forming only 17% of pay settlements. One quarter of private pay deals were being agreed at 3% or more. For the whole economy pay freezes made up 16% of settlements, the first time this proportion has dipped below 20% since August 2009. “While we may not have seen the back of pay freezes just yet, there is likely to be greater pressure on all employers to settle for a positive increase as pay medians begin to rise”, said LRD’s pay and conditions researcher Lewis Emery.

English: LRD Press Release; 

http://1.lrd.org.uk/ukassets/images/334/PayroundanalysisfromWorkplaceReport.pdf

This article was published in the Collective Bargaining Newsletter. It aims to facilitate information exchange between trade unions and to support the work of ETUC's collective bargaining committee. For more information, please contact the editor Maarten van Klaveren, Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labour Studies (AIAS) M.vanKlaveren@uva.nl. You may find further information on the ETUI atwww.etui.org, and on the AIAS at www.uva-aias.net. © ETUI aisbl, Brussels 2009.