The majority of UK workers are receiving pay rises below the rate of inflation, according to research from Industrial Relations Services.
Annual inflation in May, measured by the retail price index (RPI), was 4.3 per cent. According to IRS the headline measure of pay awards in the UK was 3.2 per cent.
While the Bank of England’s target index is the consumer price index, which stands at 3.3 per cent, the RPI reading tends to be used in pay bargaining.
IRS said just 6.1 per cent of pay awards are worth the same as or more than RPI inflation.
The figures will be a relief to monetary policy makers who have frequently expressed concern that the pick-up in inflation caused by surging global commodity prices will feed through into wage deals.
