Around 100,000 civil servants have voted to strike over pay and conditions, the Public and Commercial Services Union has announced.
The threshold for strike action was met in 126 areas, from border force officials to driving test examiners.
The PCS is calling for a 10% pay rise, better pensions, job security and no cuts to redundancy terms.
Details will be announced on 18 November if there are no "substantial" government proposals, the PCS said.
"Our members have spoken and if the government fails to listen to them, we'll have no option than to launch a prolonged programme of industrial action reaching into every corner of public life," the PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said in a statement.
The union, which represents workers employed by several British government departments, said an average of 86.2% of its balloted members voted for industrial action - the highest percentage vote in the union's history.
The PCS is the latest union to vote for industrial action following months of disruption to several industries, including transport and the legal profession.
Source: BBC
Image source: CNN
