Wage deals throughout the UK have seen car industry workers receive average pay increases over 3% for the first time in three years, according to Income Data Services (IDS).
IDS editor Ken Mulkearn said that growth in the manufacturing and, more specifically, automotive sectors, has seen workers being offered 4%-6% pay rises. “Workers are being rewarded for putting up with tough times. We haven’t been at three per cent since the recession,” he said.
IDS said that the pay rises occurred between November and January, with only six per cent of the data qualifying as pay freezes.
Brendan Barber, TUC general secretary, said: “This rise in pay settlements is great news for workers and positive for the economy too.”
Dr John Philpott, chief economic adviser of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, the professional body for human resources, said: “This is a much better outcome than following previous recessions. We have considerably more faith in the underlying strength of the UK labour market than some of those who criticise us for reporting data as we see it.”
