Deputy General Secretary Dai Hudd said: “Hutton is clear that in order to maintain a public service ethos – the sense of duty that motivates many in the public sector – it is vital to reward staff fairly. This is the key starting point for any review of public sector pay.”

Hudd welcomed the abandonment of the proposed cap on the pay of top public sector executives with a ratio of twenty times the pay of the lowest paid employee.

But the union is not convinced that Hutton’s new proposal for an ‘earn-back’ arrangement could successfully work in the current financial climate as it could create as many problems as it may solve.

Hudd said: “Any measures designed to attract and retain specialists in the public sector are to be welcomed. They are the scientists, engineers and technologists the UK needs in government to ensure that it remains an intelligent customer for the complex decisions that senior executives must make every day.”

Hudd added that greater transparency in the pay of public sector executives would also help dispel the myths surrounding public sector remuneration.

Hutton argued that a pay framework for the public and private sector would help bring to a close the war of words between the two sides over pay.

Hudd said: “We agree that the UK needs to have a big conversation about the relationship between the public and private sectors. We also want to see more transparency for the public, employees and others to get to grips with the pay of top executives wherever they work and whatever they are paid.”