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Unison slammed Alistair Darling’s first budget as “lacking the X factor”.

The union condemned it as being dull and failing to scrap the 2% pay limit in public services.

General secretary Dave Prentis (pictured) said: “World-class public services demand well trained, motivated staff, and sticking to a 2% pay limit will lead to a recruitment and retention crisis, as staff see higher pay increases in the private sector.”.

He also criticised the government for not putting more money into councils to fund single status deals. Unison has just registered its 40,000 claim over unequal pay for women and in is involved in several disputes around the country over single status deals such as in Birmingham, and Argyll and Bute. It has also just won pay outs of up to £35,000 each for 300 women working at Kirklees Council.

Both Prentis and Heather Wakefield, Unison’s head of local government, had called for the budget to scrap the 2% pay limit and fund social care services.