A 'Robin Hood'-style policy, redistributing the big salaries of public service chief executives to lower paid workers, would be more effective than the government-ordered pay freeze, according to a leading business academic. The directive, which essentially means those in the public sector earning more than $60,000 will only get a pay rise in exceptional circumstances for the next three years, has infuriated some workers. It has prompted crisis meetings between the government and unions, and a commitment to review the directive next year. The government denies it is a 'freeze', saying people can still move between pay bands and it is about equity, raising the wages of workers making $50,000 or less – that is 25 percent of public servants.