On strike in Newcastle: 'I will lose more than £17,000'
Schools, job centres and courts will face disruptions as thousands of public sector workers across the UK stage a 24-hour strike.
Picket lines have been set up as the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) and three teaching unions protest at planned changes to their pensions.
One civil servant, Ringo, who is on a picket line in Newcastle, says he could lose more than £17,000 from the changes.
The BBC's Ed Thomas reports from a picket line in Newcastle.