Engineering pay deals 'historically low'

New figures show that pay deals in British engineering firms remain at a historically low level of 2.2%.

Settlements for the three months to March were the same as the quarter to February.

The Engineering Employers' Federation says almost one in four firms froze the pay of their staff.

According to its analysis of 520 pay deals, 7% of firms deferred settlements.

David Yeandle, the federation's deputy director of employment policy, says: "This continuing historically low level of pay settlements clearly demonstrates that there continues to be no wage inflationary pressures coming from the engineering and manufacturing sector."