wage freeze
1
4.1
- noun
- /weɪdʒ friːz/
:
congelación salarial
- Moreover, the wage freeze and high inflation rates effectively prevented trade union leaders from soliciting larger contributions from the rank-and-file.
Examples
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Due to the ongoing economic crisis, the company has implemented a wage freeze to avoid layoffs.
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The union representatives are negotiating to end the wage freeze that has lasted for two years.
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Rising fuel costs are exacerbating the effects of wage freezes, which contribute to the sector's turnover rate of more than 20%.
Academic text (2011) -
Many people have lost their jobs; inflation has eroded the purchasing power of workers; prices have been allowed to escalate while the state imposed a wage freeze on workers' income.
Academic text (1990) -
In the opinion of many international experts, the situation called for a price-wage freeze that would calm inflationary expectations and give time for the fiscal and monetary instruments to work.
Academic text (1991) -
These included a wage freeze, strike bans, de-unionization of labor, and provision of lucrative incentives and subsidies to select politically connected industries.
Academic text (2000) -
While the CAW leadership agreed to base wage freezes for the life of the four-year agreements, the annual payments were notable because the Detroit Three wanted to eliminate all cost-of-living increases.
Blog text (23) -
The principal features of the economic program include: currency devaluation, external trade liberalization, privatization of public enterprises, severe cuts in social expenditures, and the imposition of a wage freeze.
Academic text (1990) -
The recent strike in Joliet, Ill., at Caterpillar—a true global company—ended with union workers being forced to accept an agreement that includes a six-year wage freeze, even as the company is earning record profits.
Blog text (12) -
Employees have expressed frustration over the new wage freeze that prevents any salary increases in the next fiscal year.
Synonyms
154
5.3
Officially stop an activity, for example the use of money or assets
Antonyms
How Big
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'holding wages at their current level' is directly derivable from combining 'wage' (payment to employees) with 'freeze' (to stop or hold). This nominal compound follows a common, cross-linguistic pattern (cf. 'price freeze', 'salary freeze') and a B1 learner who knows both constituents should be able to infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
The term wage freeze uses the picture of freeze: imagine putting workers' wages in a block of ice so they cannot rise. So, it means 'holding wages at the same level' or 'no pay rises' for a set time.