This may give away where I am...
As I had to cross a picket line to get in today it got my thinking, should PhD students strike in support of staff? Job cuts will affect us in the near future with less jobs to go around in an already competitive market. But then striking would only affect me as I have so much that has to be done by Monday and not much time to do it over the weekend....

Would you have stayed home? or even joined the picket line?

this is a tricky one. I remember that the staff striked(struck?) when I was doing my undergrad and I remember thinking it was totally unfair because our year graduate late because assignments were not marked on time, so althoguh I knew I was going to do an MSc, a lot of my friends had job offers taken away because they hadn't got their final degree class, by the correct date.

Now I see the other side of things! I don't know if I would join the picket, because I'm not a member of any unions etc. although I do support their stance. i would probably work from home on the selfish side of things and avoid the picket :$

I remember staff striking when I was doing my PhD and I was quite ambivalent about it all back then. I think it would depend on how realistic I found the situation. A lot of people are very resistant to necessary change, but I guess it's hard to see the bigger picture if your job or that of those around you is on the line. I certainly wouldn't join them without knowing what both sides were proposing and whether it really was unfair or just striking against change (a la BA).

Well, I am from Greece and lately here we have major economical problems. The government, in order to deal with these problems, has decided to cut our salaries by 12% and to raise VAT by 1%. I agree with the strikes, because I, as a simple citizen, haven't done anything to harm the economy, but I have to pay the price.....
I joined the picket line, I joined the huge demonstrations, I had to breath tear ges....
I would (and will) do it again if I have to....

I don't think under UK legislation you can strike if you are not in the union that has taken action - this would be classed at unofficial action.

Advice on the law can be found at http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/TradeUnions/DG_10027549

If you don't want to cross the line then as has been suggested work from home if you are permitted to do so or go into work really early - when I was a sessional lecturer and not in the union during the strike action 4 years ago I got into work very early to make sure I was in before the pickets arrived.

I would absolutely not cross a picket line - these are your colleagues striking, and although I don't know the reasons for the strike, workers do not go on strike unless matters are very, very serious. This is action of the last resort. These workers are probably on strike for better pay and conditions, and you, as a future academic, will benefit from this. If you're a union member, your union would be able to tell you whether you could legally join the picket or not. I also would not get into work early to avoid the picket - I would either work from home or face those on strike and cross the picket line - which as I've mentioned, I just couldn't do.

I'm the same - I'd never cross a picket line unless I really couldn't avoid it (and I'd do everything I could think of to avoid it). If I had to cross it, I'd stop and speak to people on the picket line to explain why I had to cross and to offer my support to them. It's true, striking is a last resort. I've been on strike three times in my working life (and was shop steward on all three occasions, which does put a different spin on it!) but each time it was only because we absolutely had no other option and it was the last resort when something serious was going on. Striking is a very difficult and costly thing to do. In higher education, the lecturers' and other workers' interests are usually in line with the students' interests anyway - I can't think of any time when pay cuts or redundancies have happened at the same time as better facilities and opportunities for students, or when cuts in student provisions have benefited the staff. And there's the old principle of solidarity as well - after all, if you don't support people when they need support, who's going to be there to support you when you need support?

I don't think I'd have gone in if I hadn't had two participants coming in. I guess I could have changed the date but it would have been difficult for various reasons.
The strikes were over job cuts at the Uni. The Uni (like many others) is in debt and cutting jobs.

Why wouldn't you? I'm presuming you're not part of their union, so it's surely nothing to do with you? I agree that, in the case of university staff, pay and conditions are not adequate. However, my own opinion is that strikes are generally run by egomaniac union leaders who hate anyone other than themselves making money. Look at train strikes, cabin crew strikes, baggage handler strikes. These are people with few qualifications who want paying well over the odds. Frankly, they should be sacked.

However, I suppose if you do support the uni staff strikes, you could stand about with them, although it wouldn't do anyone any good, and would only harm your own work.

Hmm, it's a strange one. Is a strike a withdrawal of work, or a protest? If it's only a withdrawal of work it really doesn't apply to us, no-one notices when we withdraw work anyway. If it's a protest, I see nothing wrong with protesting for a while and then getting on with your work. It's kinda pathetic....but that's what PhD students are!

Personally, I would occupy a nearby building until they got what they want. I don't know what building......maybe the Union bar. :-)

As for the general debate about strikes and Unions, I say we should have more of them. If those in power ain't willing to play Arsenal-style ball, we'll play Bolton-style ball.