I don't think NATS needs to cut it's salaries!
It is a benchmark. The controllers work at the busiest regional airports and Britain's only hub. They control the the upper airways and the TMA's.
It has been a guideline for non NATS units to judge what to pay their controllers. The more a NATS controller gets payed, the more a non NATS controller could demand or walk to a better unit that pays better.
There are Radar controllers out there getting payed very well for doing not a lot. They get payed well because there aren't many of them.
There are not countless numbers of people willing to self sponsor to become controllers, unlike our pilot cousins. Why would there be, the view is not as good.
This I feel has also been misunderstood by every ATS provider that think our salaries should be aligned with pilots.