Christine Hancock: Public sector "going rate" is higher than the government has been suggesting

The firefighters' settlement, agreed on Thursday between employers and union leaders, is based on a formula set up 20 years ago.

It will add £48m to the annual pay bill of £868m and local authority chiefs have warned fire or other services may have to be cut to finance it.

Christine Hancock: Firefighters deal could help nurses

Christine Hancock, of the Royal College of Nursing, told BBC Radio 4's World at One that the deal could help the nurses argue for a similar rise.

The RCH says pay is the main reason for nurses leaving the NHS.

The starting salary for nurses is £12,855 and the average pay is just £14,500.

Unison general secretary Rodney Bickerstaffe said he was happy for the firefighters that their settlement was being honoured.

"But we want honour of a different sort for all other public sector workers and we want to see that they are dealt with fairly as well.

"There are sounds already coming from some of the local government employers that if the firefighters get 5.6%, somebody else has to get less.

Rodney Bickerstaffe: Our people want fairness

"We understand mathematics, but we have been waiting rather a long term for a fair deal for all public sector workers, not least in the NHS."

Private sector rises peaked this year at about 6.5% compared with an average of 2.7% or 2.8% in the public sector, he said.

"Our people want fairness. We have thousands of people of £3.60 an hour.

Even if they got 5.6% they wouldn't be getting anything like decent treatment," added Mr Bickerstaffe.

Fire Brigades Union chief executive Ken Cameron said he understood local government's concerns about making cuts.

"But the whole idea of the pay formula was to take firefighters out of the scramble for pay every year," he said.