In the wake of static average pay deals in manufacturing firms, the Engineering Employers Federation (EEF) said that the busiest periods of wage negotiations have gone passed with any major event of inflationary wage settlements.

The officials from the federation are of belief that this will surely help in dispelling all the fears that sharp rise in human cost are translating into significant wage demands and the wider economy.

A study was conducted which included around 300 agreements and it found average deals of 2.4% but at the same time the number of pay freezes fell slightly.

Hoping a big relief for the Bank of England, Lee Hopley, the EEF's Chief Economist said, “April pay round will be another important marker for policymakers wary of how pay deals might evolve through this year. With most pay data within the monetary policy committee's comfort zone it appears that for now economic uncertainty and labor market concerns continue to be the main driver of agreements”.

Some experts from the federation are of opinion that the wage deals negotiated in the three months were hardly affected by the squeeze on households which is responsible for nervousness among the employers regarding wider economy.