It is lawful to picket, but the law imposes limits. Your objective is to
- persuade (peacefully) fellow workers not to cross the picket line to work.
- persuade (politely) goods and trades vehicles / people from entering the site. In other words try to persuade the post deliverer, milk supplier, stationery supplier, etc. not to deliver
- if someone insists on going in to work (you are not allowed to bar them from doing so) then you can ask them not to cover the work of those who are out.
- hand out leaflets explaining why we are having to take action
- picket at least for the first few hours when people will be coming to work - say from 7.30 to 11.00 a.m. After that you may wish to come to one of the lunch-time rallies (see other parts of this blog)
- be seen to be active by the public and be ready to explain why we're taking action. Don't expect everyone to agree with you, or even to be polite, but always use acceptable behaviour back.
You need to let the Police know that you intend to picket. You also need to let the Branch Office know and to give us a phone number to contact you on the day. Those who do picket will be given a mobile number to link to Branch Officers if needed.
And the really important bits...
- No more than 6 people at a time can picket - have a rota. If anyone else comes to lend moral support or wave placards they must stand clearly separate, take no part and be equally well-organised. Only members who are on strike can picket.
- Keep a picket register. This is important in case of trouble, but also so that we know who might need to claim from the Local Action Fund.
- The people picketing must be identifiable - UNISON armbands are available from the office.
- Don't cause traffic to back up dangerously into the road or create a highway hazard
- You can only picket your own place of work. If you don't have a fixed base that you work from you may picket at the administrative centre of your employer
- You must co-operate with any requests that the police might make but are entitled to try persuading them that you should be allowed to ask cars and other vehicles to stop (if they suggest you can't) so that you can speak to the driver and hand them a leaflet.
- Have a poster or placard that says you are an official picket - the Branch Office has lots of these already made up - email or phone to request one.
What to do if things go wrong
If members who are picketing start behaving unacceptably you should ask them to leave. If non-striking workers or the public become excessivley or even physically abusive you are entitled to call on the police for assistance.
You will have mobile phone numbers you can ring for advice.
Powerful picketing will help protect our Pensions. Go for it!
Moira Macdonald, Branch Secretary
