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.
Jackie Baillie, Scottish Labour's deputy leader, said: "The SNP and the Tories need to get a grip before Scotland grinds to a halt.
"From hospitals to schools to our railways, their disastrous incompetence will leave us with strike chaos and a broken Scotland.
"It is shameful that the same workers we praised during the pandemic are now being forced to fight for their pay and conditions during a cost of living crisis.
"Scots are facing another winter of discontent if the SNP and Tories don’t get round the table to agree a fair deal for these dedicated frontline workers."
Scotland now faces a wave of strike action after unions announced the results of a series of ballots this week.
The Educational Institute of Scotland, the country's largest teaching union, said the vast majority of its members had voted in favour of walkouts - which could start as early as this month.
Andrea Bradley, EIS general secretary, said: "A move to strike action is always a last resort, but our members have become increasingly angry over their treatment by their employers and by the Scottish Government.
"The last pay offer, a sub-inflation five per cent, was rejected by Scotland’s teachers almost three months ago. Since then there has been no new offer made, despite a strong desire on the part of teachers for a fair deal to be struck."
Education secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville insisted the Scottish Government was "absolutely committed" to reaching a "fair pay offer" for teachers.
It comes in the wake of members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) voting to strike after they rejected a flat £2,205 pay offer from the Scottish Government.
Other NHS staff – excluding doctors – have yet to close strike ballots while teaching union NASUWT is due to close its vote on January 6.
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. "
Responding to a call from the leader of the Scottish Conservatives to sack Humza Yousaf as health secretary, Swinney added: "If Douglas Ross wants to make himself useful he can ask the UK Government to increase the budget for the Scottish Government so we can support the health service to a greater extent and start addressing the issues facing members of the public."
A spokesman for the First Minister said: "John Swinney has been absolutely clear about the limits to our budget."
He added: "We are in a situation where we have a fixed budget and we're being forced into a position, because of massive inflationary pressure, to make some pretty hard choices.
"We have huge sympathy with workers who find their pay packets eroded by inflation and are dealing with a horrendous cost of living crisis."
A UK Government spokesman said: "The Scottish Government is well-funded to deliver on its devolved responsibilities – we are providing a record £41 billion per year settlement, which is still increasing in real terms over the 2021 Spending Review period.
"The Scottish Government also has agreed tax and borrowing powers, as well as a £700 million Scotland Reserve.”
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