'Axe' public sector union rights, says IoD

A group of business leaders is calling on the government to scrap national pay negotiations for teachers and health workers, as part of a series of changes which it claims would boost the economy.

The Institute of Directors also proposes removing the right of staff to request to work part-time, as part of a general overhaul of employment laws.

Trades unions said the proposals come from a "Thatcherite fantasy world" - a phrase the Director General of the IoD, Miles Templeman called ''absolute nonsense''. He told the BBC the public sector needs to be more efficient.