Inflation, this past month, hit the lowest figure in the last 10 years – at 3,5%. It is quite clear that next year’s salary negotiations and increases are going to be at the lowest levels also in the last decade, bearing in mind that the cost of living is now increasing at such a low rate.

Most employers use inflation as the most important guide when determining salary increases and obviously that is the figure that people are going to be looking at, apart from industries where there is little or no growth, in which case I think you are going to see a lot of zero increases next year – in other words, no increase at all.