Today’s strike by public sector workers is expected to affect almost every family in the country.
Thousands of disgruntled public servants are to take to the streets in protest at changes to their pensions.
Bins will remain unemptied, classrooms will stay eerily silent and patients will go untreated as the impact of the strike hits home.
The stoppage, predicted to be the most widespread industrial action since the General Strike in 1926, has been sparked by the bitter dispute between public sector workers and the Government over plans to change the way civil service pensions are calculated.
The Government wants to switch from final salaries to career average salary figures, as well as raising the normal retirement age and requiring workers to increase their pension contributions.
In effect, say the unions, public servants are being asked to work longer, pay more and receive less when they retire.
The Government says the current model of public-sector pensions is unaffordable, and the lowest-paid workers will not lose out.
Public service unions say the issue has aroused such strength of feeling that many of those walking out today will never have taken part in previous strikes.
The country’s international airports are bracing themselves for a day of chaos, with a number of airlines cancelling flights and travellers being warned they may have to wait up to 12 hours to clear immigration if large numbers of Border Agency staff join the stoppage.
The health service will also be hit hard, with non-emergency operations cancelled across the country.
The strike will also hit local services, such as bin collections, libraries, schools, museums and leisure centres, as well as Job Centres, though the unions have agreed a number of exemptions for services working with some of the most vulnerable members of society.
With most schools expected to be hit, the Scottish Government has taken the unusual step of allowing staff not taking part in the action to bring their children to work.
For more on the situation in your area see:
Dundee City Council (link) Fife Council (link) Perth and Kinross Council (link) Angus Council (link)