Along those lines, the American Legislative Exchange Council, an organization of nearly 2, 000 conservative state legislators, earlier this year adopted model legislation drafted by the American Principles Project that caps pension payouts at the private sector median.

FORBES: Surprise, Surprise: Pension Cuts Are Legal

He recommends that the pay of those at the top of the public-sector should be openly compared with the median levels of pay earned by staff in their services.

ECONOMIST: Public-sector pay

Base salaries rose by just 3.2%, although that was above the median rise recorded by IDS this week for average pay settlements of 2.6% for private sector workers.

BBC: Directors' pay rose 50% in past year, says IDS report