Gordon Brown was warned today that he faces a summer of discontent by civil servants, postal workers, nurses, teachers and health staff because of growing anger over jobs and pay cuts.

The Government was accused of "shameful treatment" of public sector workers because of increased privatisation of services, job losses and below-inflation pay rises.

The leader of the Public and Commercial Services Union revealed that civil servants were starting to be hit by compulsory lay-offs under controversial Government moves to cut 100,000 jobs.

General secretary Mark Serwotka told the union's annual conference in Brighton that 25 Government wildlife officers will lose their jobs at the end of this week, while a number of officials at the Department of Trade and Industry also face compulsory redundancies.

Civil servants also face being de-skilled, leaving them feeling demotivated and suffering from increased levels of stress and anxiety.

Mr Serwotka said Prime Minister-in-waiting Mr Brown was prepared to continue with the Government's agenda of increased private and voluntary sector involvement in the running of public services.

He accused ministers of pressing on with the policies even though the union had shown they were not working.

Mr Serwotka said a number of unions representing public sector workers were not considering industrial action in the coming weeks and months and he suggested co-ordinating national action.

"The conditions now exist for co-ordinated action across the public sector to fight to maintain our living standards," he said.

The union has already staged two national strikes this year and there will be calls at today's conference for the campaign to be stepped up with further national industrial action as well as moves to co-ordinate strikes with other unions.