SALARY rises in the North-west during 1998 are likely to be below the current inflation rate, it is claimed.

KPMG Management Consulting say a recent regional survey showed that 61 per cent of employers have budgeted the 1998 pay settlement at or below 3.5 per cent.

Last year's average pay rise across the region was 3.6 per cent, which is below the current inflation level of 3.7 per cent.

Wage rises last year across the North-west varied between zero and 10 per cent.

Bernasia Halik, Human Resources Consultant with KPMG Management Consulting in the North-west, said: "Unless there is a slowdown in the rate at which inflation is growing, workers throughout the region will find that they will be worse off when future pay settlements come round."

She went on: "The RPI is still enshrined in workplace culture as a target in pay deal talks.

"As it increases, employers are attempting to find other methods of rewarding staff.

"However, it will become more and more difficult to make elements of the pay bill discretionary as inflation rises."

She said 68 per cent of employers in the region were now looking at new pay policies with 49 per cent ready to do so within the next 12 months.

"Whatever the outcome of these reviews the headline rate of inflation will still have an impact on the expectation of the workforce," she said.

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