The BPIF has released the findings of its Manpower Survey report, provided with support from RSM Tenon and Meridan Financial LLP, which reveals important insights into the earnings of key production staff throughout the print industry.

Providing essential reading for small to large print businesses, the report shows a detailed view of wages paid across the board to a variety of skill levels as well as focusing on working hours and shift patterns throughout the industry.

The report gives a summary of earnings by class, shift, location, company sizes and product sector and also gives individual occupation earnings by shift, with differentials to enable users to calculate estimates for location, company size and product sector. The findings are also a great source of information on wages for small print companies who do not have personnel departments.
The BPIF's Research and Information Manager Kyle Jardine commented on the importance of the report, stating: "The findings help companies when benchmarking wages and can help to ensure they are not paying too much or too little, this can help towards the prevention of losing essential staff to other companies."

One key finding of the report was that average earnings decreased by 11.5% - a decrease that, according to the report, has been influenced by dramatic reduction in over time hours and decrease in shift payments.

The findings in the report also highlighted that average basic wages in companies with less than 25 people are greater than those in companies with 25 or more. According to the survey this suggests that smaller companies need to pay a higher

The survey also plays an instrumental role in showing the true picture of the current state of the industry after the economic downturn. It highlights the true scale of the recession and how it has driven many companies to manage their businesses in a variety of different ways.

As no official National Agreement with trade unions has been reached for some time the Manpower Survey also plays an essential part in allowing companies to get a true picture of the national industry wage structure.

Kyle concludes: "The Manpower Survey is the only wage benchmark we have at the moment because there has been no National Agreement. It is a document that can assist companies in assessing their wage costs and making the decisions about the recruitment and deployment of people. It also enables guidance and assistance to be given to member companies on wages structures and earnings levels and is an essential tool for negotiations at all levels."