UK factory pay deals hold at record low in Sept-EEF

Pay settlements in Britain's manufacturing sector held steady at a record low of 0.3 percent in the three months to September as the number of pay freezes rose to a record high, a survey showed on Friday. The Engineering Employers' Federation said nearly four out of five firms said they had frozen pay in the three months to September, the highest proportion since the survey began in 1987. The proportion of manufacturers reporting they had deferred their pay settlement rose to just over 12 percent.

Many companies have been forced to cut jobs or reduce workers' wages as they battle to survive the deep recession.

"The continuing high proportion of companies that are now freezing pay means that manufacturing settlements are still at the historically low level of 0.3 percent," said EEF head of employment policy David Yeandle. "This pattern shows little sign of changing in the coming months."