Driving test examiners, coastguards and other transport staff across Scotland and the UK are to take strike action from the end of the week in protest at Government spending cuts, jobs and pensions.

A two-hour walkout will be held on Friday by driving examiners, followed by a week-long series of short strikes in the Maritime and Coast- guard Agency, said the Public and Commercial Services(PCS) union.

Further strikes will be held throughout June by staff at the Department for Transport head office and several agencies, including Highways and Driving Standards.

PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: "With unemployment high and our communities suffering as a result of the Government's cuts, ministers should be providing all the help they can to local economies that are crying out for support and investment.

"Instead, they're ploughing on with entirely unnecessary and unpopular cuts to vital transport services.

"These strikes across the whole range of transport services form a major part of our ongoing fight against cuts to pensions, jobs and pay."

Mark Peacock, head of BSM driving school, said: "Taking your driving test is a big day and can be nerve-wracking enough without the thought of strike disruption.

"However, candidates who have chosen to keep their test booking for the afternoon of June 8 should still attend their test so it can go ahead if possible."

Thousands of PCS members across the UK will be involved in the action.

HM Revenue & Customs workers last week voted to take industrial action in a row over jobs and privatisation, adding to the growing number of disputes the Government is now facing.

The PCS said four out of five of its members had backed industrial action short of a strike, and just over half supported walkouts.

The union represents 55,000 members in HMRC, including tax advisers and call centre staff, with one-third taking part in the ballot.

The PCS said it was fighting plans to cut thousands of jobs in the department over the next few years, adding that 30,000 posts had already been lost since 2005.

A trial using private firms to handle tax credit inquiries in two centres in Cumbria and West Lothian is also being opposed.

The Government is facing a growing number of disputes. Doctors are planning to take industrial action this month, while teachers have warned of co-ordinated strikes in the autumn term if the dispute over pensions is not resolved.