More workers face pay freeze

PAY deals averaged 2 per cent in the past year, lower than the previous 12 months and lagging well behind the rate of inflation, according to a study today.

One in six settlements involved a wage freeze, with many workers suffering a second successive year with no pay rise, said the Labour Research Department (LRD).

Freezes affected one in four workers in the past year, more than in the previous 12 months.

Only a minority of deals kept pace with RPI inflation, which peaked at 5.3 per cent in April, and these mainly involved long-term agreements with a built-in inflation link.

Some deals in private firms were worth at least 5 per cent, but public sector workers faced pay freezes and moves to "undermine" wage bargaining in sectors including agriculture, schools and health, said the report.