Scotland faces grinding to a halt this winter after teachers became the latest workers to vote for strikes yesterday – meaning they could soon join nurses and train drivers on picket lines.
Postal workers and civil servants are also planning industrial action after rejecting below-inflation wage offers.
The Scottish and UK Governments are being urged to get round the table with trade unions to prevent the country sliding into “strike chaos”.
John Swinney, the Deputy First Minister, yesterday blamed “stupid economic decisions” by the UK Government for fuelling inflation, which is running at a 40-year high.
Civil servants will also walk out in Scotland after members of the PCS union across the UK voted to back the action, while university lecturers represented by the UCU union voted this week to strike.
But Swinney, who is standing in as finance secretary, has repeatedly warned there is no money left to increase pay offers to public sector workers.
He told MSPs yesterday: “The UK Government is not recognising the public spending pressures that exist because of inflation that they have fuelled by their stupid economic decisions.
“As a consequence public budgets are under enormous pressure. ”