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Gordon Brown has been urged by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) to herald a "fresh start" for public services when he becomes prime minister next month.

Unions have told the chancellor, who will take over from Tony Blair at No 10 when the prime minister steps down on June 27th, that a "toxic cocktail" of government reforms are severely underpinning morale and confidence among public servants.

In its submission to the comprehensive spending review the TUC says that increasing privatisation, deferred pay rises and "ill thought" budget cuts have created a "crisis of commitment and morale".

The TUC is urging Mr Brown to adopt a policy of better consultation between staff and patients in the NHS, to recognise the civil service efficiency programme is not working, to increase involvement of unions in decision-making processes and grant new reforms a greater settling in period.

"Public services need a fresh start. A toxic cocktail of deferred pay, service cuts, privatisation, and endless reorganisation has produced a crisis of commitment and morale," said TUC general secretary Brendan Barber.

"Unions back reforms that lead to better services more in touch with today's world, but public service reform is too often done to public servants, not with them.

"A new approach should be on the top of Gordon Brown's in-tray. He should end the jobs cut arms race with the other parties, and instead start a national debate on how best to pay for the modern public services the country needs."

Unions were angered by below inflation public sector pay rises – the lowest for a decade – announced earlier this year.

Two national strikes organised by public sector unions have already been held in 2007 to protest at an acceleration of privatisation plans and subsequent job cuts.