Never forget that anything less than last August RPI is a pay cut, exactly last August RPI is a pay freeze. Only RPI plus anything can be seen as a pay rise.
So if RPI is say, -2.5% next August as it is forecast to be, do you still expect an above 0% pay rise in 2010?
I think we will do well to get anything above 2.5% for 2009 but if this were tied into say, another 2% in 2010 then I think that would be a reasonable deal should a 2 year one be on the table.