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Thousands of Scottish civil servants are expected to take part in a strike on Thursday after a narrow vote in a dispute over pay.The Public and Commercial Services Union has about 5,000 members working in the Scottish Government and Registers of Scotland.The union is protesting against a cap on public sector pay rises at 2%.The government said it was "disappointed" at the action and contingency plans had been made.Union leaders expect 80-90% of their members to take part.A strike will be followed by an overtime ban and work-to-rule.The other unions in the government, Prospects and the FDA, have accepted the pay deal and will not be striking.The PCS said the "key work" of ministers and land registration in Scotland could be "seriously" affected.Three other public sector unions - Unison, Unite and the GMB - have also balloted for action over pay.The PCS is also balloting its members in the Sheriff and High Courts, and the Procurator Fiscals' department.Eddie Reilly, PCS Scottish secretary, hit out at First Minister Alex Salmond and Finance Secretary John Swinney.He said: "It's time for Salmond and Swinney to come out of hiding and face up to their own workers."Their miserly pay offer to our members who earn £16,000 per year means a pay increase of only £4.20 per week. Low paid workers won't accept that."A spokesman for the Scottish Government said it would not know until later on Thursday how many people were on strike, but said that managers had made contingencies to deal with the situation.He added: "We're disappointed that the PCS had decided to take this action."
