An Institute of Packaging survey of its members has revealed that the average salary for the packaging industry in the UK and Ireland is substantially above the national average.
“On the whole, employment in the industry seems to be very stable, with the majority of members receiving a pay rise in the past 12 months and 75 per cent of respondents have never been made redundant,” comments Colin Hatton, co-author of the survey. However, the bad news for female members is that whilst salaries appear to be rising at a steady rate year on year, they can be earning as much as 28 per cent less than their male counterparts.
One concern raised in the survey is the amount of overtime worked throughout the industry. Unpaid overtime appears to be the norm, with the mean average 10 hours per week, whilst 66 per cent of respondents work between six and 26 hours unpaid overtime on a weekly basis.
More information from: Maria Andrews, IOP – TEL: +44 (0)1664 502111. EMAIL: jo@iop.co.uk WEBSITE: www.iop.co.uk