Ids Newspaper
LONDON (Reuters) - The rate of wage growth in Britain edged up slightly in the three months to April, while the proportion of pay freezes fell, a study of pay deals showed on Thursday. The median wage rise climbed to 2 percent over the period, compared to 1.9 percent in the three months to the end of March, according to the survey by Incomes Data Services based on 97 companies with 2.1 million staff. With Britain trying to cut its budget deficit and reduce spending, the figures highlighted a sharp divide between wage rises in the private and public sectors. The median pay deal for public sector workers was 1 percent, half that of the private sector's two percent. The proportion of pay freezes fell to its lowest level since January 2009, although public workers were more likely to see their wages put on hold. More than a third (35 percent) of public sector pay awards with effective dates in April resulted in pay freezes. Those affected included hospital consultants, dentists and family doctors. "The number of (public sector) employees affected by freezes is likely to rise as well, since the public sector bargaining groups are relatively large," said Ken Mulkearn, editor of IDS Pay Report, whose staff collect the survey data. Rising inflation is having only a moderate effect on pay rises, although that could strengthen in the second half of the year, Mulkearn added. Consumer price inflation unexpectedly jumped to a 17-month high in April, driven by big rises in tax on alcohol and tobacco as well as higher prices for women's clothes and food. Prime Minister David Cameron, who leads a new coalition government, said last week that there had been a "slightly worrying increase in inflation in recent months." His government will set out its spending plans in an emergency budget on June 22. (Reporting by Peter Griffiths; Editing by Toby Chopra)
