Hays finds employers aren’t ready to hand over big salary rises just yet
Transport sector employees can all but forget about that big pay rise this year.
According to the 2015 Hays Salary Guide, the vast majority of transport and distribution employers plan to raise salaries by no more than three per cent in the next financial year.
Hays’ research found that just 16 per cent of transport sector employers planned to offer salary increases of between three and six per cent.
Some 71 per cent expect to offer minimal increases of up to three per cent, while the remaining employers were not expecting to adjust salaries at all over the next 12 months.
The results are at odds with a connected survey of transport sector employees, 28 per cent of whom are expecting a pay rise of over three per cent this year.
Director of Hays’ logistics service Tim James points out the winding back of mining work and other commodities has meant employees will have difficulties demanding big raises.
“Like many sectors, logistics has felt the impact of the mining sector slowdown and the decline in the price of commodities and oil,” James says.
“In the mining sector, both operators and mining services companies have carried out restructures and placed a far greater focus on non-resource related opportunities in an effort to diversify their portfolios.
“Restructuring was also seen in traditional sectors such as fast moving consumer goods and retail.
The impact of the fall in the Australian dollar also helped to shape the direction of these sectors.
James also notes that transport and logistics employers are favouring the use of contractors over permanent staff.
“Organisations must become more agile and flexible to cope with fluctuating demand for services and the highs and lows of global markets. We expect the contract market to become strongly competitive,” he says.
The businesses surveyed indicated an uptick in confidence for the near future; 66 per cent of them expected business activity to rise over the year ahead.