More than 130,000 civil servants across 132 Government departments in the UK are set to strike today, as the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) continues its long-running dispute over pay, jobs, and conditions. Yesterday, tens of thousands of teachers went on strike, forcing school closures and further disrupting services.

PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka accused ministers of bullying civil servants, amid reports that Health Secretary Steve Barclay has been accused of bad behaviour towards staff in the Department of Health and Social Care. The resignation of Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab, following a probe into his conduct, has also heightened tensions.

In addition to the civil servant strike, teachers are due to strike on May 2, and head teachers are being balloted on further walkouts in the autumn term. The RMT has also announced a new strike coinciding with the Eurovision Song Contest final in Liverpool on May 13.

The PCS campaign of industrial action shows no signs of abating, with members due to strike next week at the Passport Office, Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), and Care Quality Commission. The union has already announced a 15-day strike at HMRC in the same dispute.

Recent research by the union showed that one in five DWP workers claimed benefits, and one in 14 DWP offices had their own food banks. Meanwhile, the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) is to hold a formal postal ballot of its members in England over pay, funding, workload, and wellbeing. This follows the rejection of a recent pay offer by the Government, with 90 percent of NAHT members voting against the proposal and 78 percent indicating they would be prepared to vote for industrial action.

All four education unions, including the NAHT, the National Education Union (NEU), the NASUWT teaching union, and the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), have rejected the pay offer.