Indians to see 10.8 pc salary hike in 2015: Towers Watson

Employees in India are expected to see a 10.8 per cent salary hike in 2015, even as pay increases across Asia Pacific region are set to rise by an average 7 per cent in the coming year, says a report.
According to Towers Watson 2014-15 Asia-Pacific Salary Budget Planning Report, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Vietnam are set to lead the way with over 11 per cent overall salary increases while India is placed at the fourth position with an increase of 10.8 per cent.
The report added that though salary across the regions are set to rise, a corresponding rise in inflation would mean that pay increases in 'real terms' would be eroded significantly in the coming year.

China is expected to see the highest salary increase -- 5.2 per cent in real terms in the region, followed by Pakistan (4.5 per cent), Bangladesh (4.3 per cent), Vietnam (4.1 per cent) and Sri Lanka (3.8 per cent).
India was ranked sixth with a corresponding real increase of 3.5 per cent.
"We foresee an increased economic growth in Asia Pacific in 2015 in light of a declining unemployment rate and rising GDP in the region," Towers Watson Data Services practice leader, Asia Pacific Sambhav Rakyan said.

"This, in turn, will lead to inflationary pressures that affect real salary increases. Indians will only see an effective salary increase that is one-third of the overall salary increase due to such pressures," Rakyan added.

The report further noted that in 8 out of the 10 sectors surveyed, the pay raises for Executive Directors and Senior Management in India are expected to be higher than or equal to 2014 with the professional services sector particularly standing out at 4.5 per cent.
In India all employees -- from production workers to executive directors -- are set to have higher pay raises than last year.
Sector wise analysis shows that the pharmaceutical sector across the region, including in India, will continue to have amongst the highest salary increases.
Pharmaceutical sector in Vietnam would see a 12 per cent salary hike, followed by India (11.5 per cent) and China (8.9 per cent).

In India, the financial sector is likely to see 10 per cent salary hike in 2015 (same as last year), the hi-tech sector is set to see an increase of 10.7 per cent in 2015, up from 10.5 per cent the previous year.
Interestingly, all 20 surveyed countries would witness an increase in 'regular salary reviews' in 2015, the survey that included 2,900 sets of responses received from over 300 different companies across a range of industry sectors.
Moreover there has been a significant reduction in the number of companies that opted for a salary freeze or postponement in the previous year, the report said.