According to data from the Labour Research Department (LRD) Payline database, wage freezes are not the only way employers have responded to the economic crisis.
According to Payline, just 23% of wage settlements since January 2009 have included pay freezes. Only in a handful of cases there have been pay cuts. Yet, the level of pay increases has dropped to an overall median of 2.5% from January - June 2009.
The median rise since January 2009 for long-term deals is 3.2%, compared to the median for new deals of 2%. "It is likely that employers that sign long-term deals with their unions favour stability and good industrial relations", said Lewis Emery, LRD's pay and conditions researcher.
Press release Labour Research Department (LRD)
Payline at www.lrd.org.uk