In his Autumn Statement, the chancellor asked pay review bodies to "consider how public sector pay can be made more responsive to local labour markets", which could mean scrapping national pay rates for public sector workers and negotiating them locally.

Unions fear that would lead to public sector workers in the north being paid less than their equivalents in the south.

Northern TUC regional secretary Kevin Rowan and James Ramsbotham, chief executive of the North-east Chambers of Commerce, discuss whether the idea is workable.

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