Union leaders have called for mass strikes this autumn to eclipse last November's walk-out by more than a million workers.

They warned staff were at breaking point over pay freezes, job losses and other cuts as delegates gathered for the annual Trades Union Congress conference in Brighton.

The union bosses said that only large-scale co-ordinated industrial action could exert the pressure needed on the Tory-Liberal Democrat Government.

Mark Serwotka, the leader of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union, which represents civil servants, said his organisation was preparing for strikes this autumn and called on unions to capitalise on anti-austerity protests planned for October 20.

There was no time to waste, he warned, describing last year's mass walk-outs as a lost opportunity because unions had failed to keep the pressure up on the Coalition.

He said he hoped that even greater numbers would protest this year, with pay and pensions issues now affecting many private-sector staff as well as those in the public sector.

He added: "As well as protesting on the streets, we believe we will need to follow this up as soon as possible with further co-ordinated strikes."

Leaders of the two biggest teachers' unions are meeting at the conference to decide whether to hold co-ordinated strikes this autumn, with the PCS poised to join them if they go ahead.

Some unions are also preparing to back calls to consider a general strike, last seen in Britain in 1926, at the conference.

Bob Crow, the RMT leader, said that his organisation would support the motion and that he was "confident" that it would be carried by delegates at the conference.

The bosses of the massive health-sector union Unison and the wide-ranging GMB union both said they were planning industrial action for next spring, allowing time for negotiations with ministers.

Unison leader Dave Prentis added: "This is more than rhetoric. This is what we are planning as we move into the negotiating season."

The new leader of the TUC, Frances O'Grady, said the organisation "stands ready" to back co-ordinated strike action.

The Tories called for Labour leader Ed Miliband to stop taking money from the Unite union, one of Labour's biggest backers, after its leader also talked of possible strike action.

Mr Miliband will address union leaders at a dinner in Brighton tonight while Labour's shadow chancellor Ed Balls will make a speech to delegates tomorrow morning.

Yesterday Mr Balls said the LibDems should join with Labour to build a Plan B for the economy, to help the UK out of its second recession in five years. The call came as the TUC released figures it said showed the average worker was being "cheated" out of £7000 a year.

If wages had keep up with growth in the economy the average wage would be £33,000, union leaders said. As it stands the figure is just £26,000, and much less than that in many parts of the country.

The outgoing TUC leader Brendan Barber said that those on high wages had "cheated" those on lower salaries and called for a rebalancing of salaries.

He warned the situation was not just unfair but was also holding back economic growth.

Companies making goods needed workers with cash in their pockets, he said.

He added: "Despite the crash, the economy has almost doubled in size over the past 30 years. But most people at work have been cheated out of their fair share of that growth.

"The result is that average workers now get a smaller section of a smaller pie."

He added that this week's conference would show the "real anger" felt by millions of people and there was "every possibility" of more strikes.

Unison and the GMB also announced that fighting the Coalition's austerity cuts had brought them closer together and that they would now campaign together on pay claims.