THOUSANDS of civil servants are preparing to strike over pay this summer in a move that will severely disrupt services to the public.
The main Scottish Government union, the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) is balloting members with a recommendation that they stage walkouts later this year.
Prosecutions in Scotland's courts are likely to be brought to a standstill if
court and Crown Office staff join the industrial action. Property transactions, art galleries and payments to farmers are also likely to be affected.
Finance Secretary John Swinney has written to civil servants in an effort to head off the strike.
But union negotiators are expected to call for a two-day strike in mid-July, followed by further stoppages if the deadlock is not broken.
Social workers, housing benefit staff, teaching assistants, dinner ladies, cooks, cleaners, architects, traffic wardens and refuse collectors will join the strike in the biggest show of industrial unrest for years.
Jobcentre and benefit office workers and other civil servants could take industrial action later in the year in separate rows.
Ministers, both north and south of the border, have offered civil servants a deal worth 2% a year over three years, although Scottish ministers have said they will increase the offer for some public workers.
But the unions are calling for 6% this year and claim that rises in food and fuel prices mean they cannot survive on low pay increases.
The first ballot will include 4,000 civil servants in the Scottish Government civil service and in the Registers of Scotland, which handles registration of property transactions. The ballots should arrive in the post tomorrow and the closing date for the vote is July 18. The result is expected to be announced on July 21.
Lynn Henderson, political officer for the PCS in Scotland, said: "We are seeking a fair increase for our members, who see prices going up much quicker than the 2% in this offer."
She added that the civil servants would attempt to co-ordinate their strike action with that of other public bodies, such as councils.
Later in the summer, officials at the Crown Office and Prosecutor Fiscal Service, which handles the prosecution of crime, and the Scottish Courts Service, which administers and staffs courtrooms, will ballot on strike action. They are also being urged to come out on strike.
Scottish Government ministers have attempted to head off a strike by writing to civil servants. They are offering an increase of 13% for workers in the lowest pay bands. However, the maximum offer for most civil servants would be no more than 4.5%.
They are also offering faster progress through pay bands and a reduction in the qualifying period for 30 days' annual leave from 10 years to five years with effect from August.
In his letter, Swinney said: "It has been necessary to prepare a pay remit within the constraints resulting from the UK Government applying the smallest increase in the Scottish Government budget since devolution."
He added: "I believe that this pay proposal is better than most staff would have expected, which is a result of my determination to allow as much flexibility as I could to help staff meet the pressures of a rising cost of living.
"I have been mindful of the pressures you face. I simply ask you to recognise the financial background against which I have taken this decision."
Chancellor Alistair Darling has repeatedly urged unions to opt for low pay increases in an effort to combat inflation, which has risen to 3.3%, the highest level in more than a decade.
Unison is also balloting council workers in Scotland for strikes over pay in a separate dispute after being offered a three-year deal worth 2.5% a year.
Observers believe unions have been buoyed by the 14% pay rise won by fuel tanker drivers after a strike earlier this month.
