I’d like to think that we’ve moved on from demonising those who cross the picket line. But that won’t happen until protesters are cut a lot of slack in the right wing media too. It should be a mature day where everyone sympathises with everyone and we all eventually come to an agreement. This agreement isn’t going to come within a day. But it’ll come a lot quicker if we stopped the petty judgements and got on with solving things democratically.

i work at a local hospital and will cross any picket line i come across



the people organising the strike can afford to do so while the ones most out of pocket are the ones being asked to lose a days pay

if i was sat in government i'd want 1 million of my employees losing a days pay every so often as the money saved will help towards the national debt but would cause me no personal hardship at all

Family 1st every time mate and you even say yourself you are'nt part fo any union so it's feck all to do with any picket.

I understand why they are doing it BUT ateod you aren't signed up so do the work get the extra £££££ and give yer family a decent xmas!

I've crossed a line and took grief for it but the reason i crossed was i didn't agree with the reasons for the strike in the first place, plus the union rep booked a holiday for that day and was paid anyway.

My missus works at a local hospital and she will be crossing the picket line.



A lot of people where she works don't even want to strike due to a days loss of wages which they can't afford, but feel forced into doing so as people who are striking appear to be making threatening remarks if they dont strike.



One woman, although not striking offered to take cups of warm tea and coffee out to the strikers with the probability of it being a cold day but it's been declined as she appears to be a "scab".



My missus has also been criticised, and much worse for not striking, and is now being faced with someone trying to stop her vehicle getting her into work..............not the wisest of moves as my missus will most likely knock them into next week............bless her

Take the money

You shouldn't be made to feel bad for not sharing the same opinion as someone. I don't always agree with strikes, as I think in many cases its the Unions trying to flex their muscles.

For every day a person strikes they lose about 0.5% of their yearly salary, plus the pension related stuff. In the end, people have really got to be certain that the strike will work for it to be worth it.



Also, striking because you want a 3% pay rise is just barmy. We'd all like a 3% pay rise, but at the moment people should accept that we're in difficult times. Some people will get a pay rise, but in general, most people are just happy to still have a job paying what it did a few years ago.



I agree that cost of living has gone up, but despite this I don't see people being any wiser about using their money. If anything there are more cars on the road, more people out on nights out in town, more people in the shops on a weekend.



Some people will be in truly dire situations, and will have lost one or both of the major incomes of their houses. I sympathise with them.

Take the money mate!



When I was unemployed it was the worst time of my life, and it helped teach me the value of having a job and earning as much as possible from this!



Surely an awesome christmas in your house is worth upsetting a few colleagues you don't really like anyway?!

my dad was on strike for a whole year 1984-1985 but in the end it didn't get the lad's anywhere if only the deputies had have come out with the lad's it would have been a totally different story she begged mcgregor to get them to work because she knew they were strong, but alas it created an i'm allright jack mentalilty and although i hate to say it she won, but workers are still paying for it today in both public and private sector, it creates a scenario where honest working people are terrified for their jobs and will do anything they are told to do that job, i won't be crossing any line because i am a union rep and my dad would never forgive me.

take the ££££££ and have a good xmas

And if the strikers are successful in forcing a better deal?



Presumably all those prepared to cross a picket line would donate their share to charity rather than being subsidised by those who were prepared to forego wages in order to obtain that deal?

I'm in a broadly similar situation. People where I work will be on strike, but I am not in a Union, and as such I don't think I could strike if I wanted to.



I am not entirely behind the strikes anyway, which I don't feel are well grounded in the real world. The union most people here are in were threatening to strike over pay negotiations last year in which they were asking for an 8% rise. It actually made me quite angry. I work in an organisation with an essentially finite pot of money to spend. An 8% pay rise would simply have meant that some jobs would have to go. That isn't the spirit I undersatnd unions to be in.



I have a public sector pension, and it's a very, very good deal in this climate. I don't, however, believe that it's sustainable and I've always had it on the understanding that I'll keep paying into it as long as it's a better deal than anything available privately, which it is. It is probably increasingly out of step with what happens in the outside world. That is, in part, compensation for the fact that my salary is a little lower than it would be for the same job in the private sector, but in truth my decision to be here instead of the private sector isn't financial anyway.



Furthermore, since I'm not paid by the hour anyway, but essentially paid to work until the job is done (invariably a lot more hours than it says on my basic contract) and I'd still have to do the same work next week anyway, nobody whatsoever would suffer except me. I wouldn't be witholding my labour, since the work will be done anyway.



Most unions are fairly sick puppies these days, being more motivated by the hunger for air time of their leaders and other political goals than by the interests of their members anyway. If that changed and they got back to doing what they're supposed to do, I'd be more interested. My wife recently left the union in question at this place after their total lack of interest in actual issues affecting their members became apparent, as they were clearly too busy trying to get on TV instead.



I support the right to strike, but I also support my right to make my own mind up on whether to join in.



Rant ends. For now.