Scottish public sector workers last night began a one-day strike expected to involve hundreds of civil servants, in a bitter dispute over pay.

Staff at Scotland's five coastguard rescue centres were the first to walk out nearly two months after mounting the first strike in their history.

It was not clear how the action would affect emergency services, but up to 100 Scottish members of the Public and Commercial Services union were expected to participate.

The strike involves workers starting shifts at 7pm last night and affects emergency calls and operations at rescue co-ordination centres but not staff sent out to emergencies.

The PCS has demanded that coastguards get another £3000 on top of their current base pay of £14,000 a year.

Hundreds more public sector staff including driving examiners, job centre and immigration workers will being their strike action this morning as part of a day of action involving more than 100,000 PCS members throughout the UK along with teachers and lecturers in England and Wales.

It is being seen as the biggest multi-union strike against the government's pay norm since Labour came to power in 1997.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency said yesterday that it had hoped the coastguard strike could be avoided and said it would "encourage the unions to return to the negotiating table at the very earliest opportunity".

An MCA spokesman said: "Whilst our service will be of a more limited nature on this and other strike days, this action is by those responsible for co-ordinating rescues - the rescuers themselves will continue to operate as normal. The agency wants to work with the unions on what the future maritime world looks like and what this means for the coastguard and the agency as a whole."

Union leaders warned that unrest in the civil service will increase unless the government changes its policy of pegging pay increases to 2% a year in each of the next three years.

More than 10,000 PCS members across Scotland were expected to take part in the stoppage.

Disputes are also brewing in other government departments and agencies, including the conciliation service Acas and Revenue and Customs.