1.   Ministers have approved a public sector pay freeze.

2.   Many companies have imposed a pay freeze.

3.   The Rover Group has announced a six-month pay freeze at its plants in Cowley and Swindon, because of the decline in the motor industry.

4.   Cuts in benefits and a public sector pay freeze are thought to be likely.

5.   While the Cabinet has yet to make final decisions, ministers seemed set to approve a pay freeze.

6.   WORKERS at Hotpoint in North Wales have started industrial action over a pay freeze.

7.   A public sector pay freeze and a squeeze on benefits are thought to be among the main items in the package.

8.   Albano acknowledged that many members disliked the pay freeze, saying that he opposed the freeze in private.

9.   But when inflation is close to zero, a pay freeze is regarded as an insult, even if it leaves living standards unchanged.