Auditors identified a failure to meet savings targets and an increase in spending on agency staff as two of the reasons why trust deficits are out of control.
Other furloughs, affecting air traffic controllers, meat inspectors and others, will begin in April and are likely to accelerate as the departments struggle to meet savings targets by Sept. 30.
The RCN's concerns came after it emerged some health officials had ordered cuts to overtime and agency staff spending, while all health boards were struggling to meet savings targets.
Falkirk Council leader Craig Martin said the budget was a "balancing act" between protecting jobs, maintaining services and meeting savings targets.
Carl Les, deputy leader of the authority, said the council had no choice given the need for it to meet its saving targets.
It would be wholly unacceptable for one government agency to seek to meet its savings targets by dumping costs onto others that are also having to find savings.
A third fewer editorial jobs are to be cut at the Scotsman and Scotland on Sunday than had originally been feared, but sport, business, news and magazine pages will be reduced to meet cost-saving targets.
