The Guardian asked readers to share the reasons why they are striking. See some of their replies, from Cif, Twitter and across the web below

JAChand: We are striking to protect our pension funds from the raid by this government. More sensible cuts would be to reduce MPs pay and pension entitlements whilst curbing their expenses. As a University lecturer, we are witnessing the erosion of the Higher Education sector and a massive dumbing down of our society as a whole. All of these are worth striking for.

Mae Bee from Leeds: Started today at 8 on the picket lines at Leeds Met. My union isn’t yet on strike although hopefully by Autumn there really will be the season of discontent. Along with many others, I’d taken the day off in solidarity because whilst in the unions, we are also beyond the unions.

By 11 we were a few hundred strong, which is impressive for Leeds. Without – and with no desire for – a police presence, we took the roads and strolled down past an enthusiastic public into town to meet a larger crowd at the main square. “What did we achieve?” will be the question asked. And of course, in terms of Government policy, probably nothing. But this is not where politics lies, nor has it ever been. Instead, today, we all were delighted to see other people in our workplaces, communities, kids groups, schools; we saw each other and connected. These are the ways our bonds are forged, in moments such as these.

islaking: I will be striking because I would like people to be aware of the hard work that teachers do for this country. I do not want to be envied for ‘good salaries’ and ‘good holidays’ but appreciated for what I, and all my colleagues, do every day in teaching the young people of this country so that they can go on and be successful in their own lives and contribute to the economy.

Teachers on strike will not be paid and this should be remembered and recognised as a demonstration of how strongly we feel about our situation.

AL: I am a civil servant striking today. I don’t want to be on strike, the loss of pay next month is going to hit me very hard, and I don’t particularly want to cause other people inconvenience. But I feel it’s necessary to show the government that civil servants are fed up of being deprived of decent pay rises and treated like goats by government and media alike. We accepted a two year pay freeze to help the country out, whilst private sector got an average of a 3% pay rise. We have had our compensation scheme virtually destroyed, are losing jobs all over the place and now are expected to pay 3% extra for a pension. What’s more, that money will not go into the pension but will go to pay for a crisis created by greedy people in the private sector.

I believe everyone should have a good pension, no one should need to rely on benefits when they get old, and I don’t accept that just because private sector employers are allowed to line their own pockets at the expense of their workers. This government has no intention of negotiating in a meaningful way over pensions, it has already stated when these changes are coming in!

penpoints: I’m striking because I see it as common decency. As a society we should be looking at improving our lot together. We should be demanding the right to retire at 60 so we can enjoy some of our lives free from the constraints of the rat race. We should be holding regular debates to lower this age when we can afford it.

I’m striking because the global elite have made our societies full of mass inequality. I think this makes society unstable and is the potential flashpoint for conflict. I am striking for a fairer, more humane society and one that is based on long-term peace.

burningbush: I am striking tomorrow and will for the first time in my life be marching. For me this is not just about pensions, it is an opportunity for me to demonstrate that my values do not match those of the government. My integrity and sense of what is important is very much in focus. This government knows the cost of everything and the value of nothing. It is people and their dignity that must be at the forefront of government policy. Good luck to the strikers and there supporters tomorrow...

(The Guardian, June 30, 2011)

An Extract from ‘NICE WORK’

Read an extract from the book ‘Nice Work’ by David Lodge. What is the characters’ attitude to strikes and why?

Characters:

Victor Wilcox – Managing Director of an engineering company

Robyn Penrose – a young university lecturer in English Literature who is in a ‘Shadow Scheme’ to study business and industrial practices

‘Have a seat.’ Wilcox indicated an armchair drawn up at an angle to his desk. He pressed a button on a console and said, ‘Two coffees, please, Shirley.’ Then he sat down and lit a cigarette. ‘Haven’t we met before?’ he said.

‘Not that I’m aware of.’

‘I’ve a feeling I’ve seen you recently.’

‘I can’t imagine where that would be.’

Wilcox continued to stare at her through a cloud of smoke.

‘I’m sorry I’m a bit late,’ Robyn said. ‘The roads were terrible, and I got lost.’

‘You’re a week late,’ he said. ‘I was expecting you last Wednesday.’

‘I’m sorry,’ she said to Wilcox. ‘It was a bit chaotic at the University last Wednesday. We had a one-day strike on, you see.’

‘That’s where I saw you!’ he exclaimed, pointing a finger at her like a gun. ‘I drive past there every day on my way to work. I was held up last Wednesday. Put two minutes on my journey time. You were standing outside University gates at about eight o’clock in the morning. You were holding a banner.’ He pronounced this last word as if it denoted something unpleasant.

‘Yes, I was picketing.’

What fun it has been! Stopping cars and thrusting leaflets through the drivers’ windows, turning back lorries, waving banners for the benefit of local TV cameras, cheering when the truck driver decided not to cross the picket line, sharing the warm glow of camaraderie with colleagues one had never met before…

‘What were you striking about? Pay?’

‘Partly. That and the cuts.’

‘You want no cuts and more pay?’

‘That’s right.’

‘Think the country can afford it?’

‘Certainly,’ said Robyn. ‘If we spent less on defence – ’

‘This company has several defence contracts,’ said Wilcox. ‘If those contracts were cancelled, I’d have to lay off men. Your cuts would become ours.’

‘You could make something else,’ said Robyn. ‘Something peaceful.’

‘What?’

‘I can’t say what you should make,’ said Robyn irritably. ‘It’s not my business.’

‘No, it’s mine.’

At that moment his secretary came into the room with two cups of coffee, shooting curious glances at each of them. When she had gone, Wilcox said, ‘Who were you trying to hurt?’

‘Hurt?’

‘A strike has to hurt someone. The employers, the public. Otherwise it has no effect.’

Robyn was about to say, ‘The Government,’ when she saw the trap: Wilcox would find it easy enough to argue that the Government had not been troubled by the strike. Nor had the general public been greatly inconvenienced. The Students’ Union had supported the strike, and its members had not complained about a day’s holiday from lectures. The University? But the University wasn’t responsible for the cuts of lecturers’ salaries. Faster than a computer, Robyn’s mind reviewed these candidates for the target of the strike and rejected them all. ‘It was only a one-day strike,’ she said at length. ‘More of a demonstration, really. We got a lot of support from other trade unions. Several lorry-drives refused to cross the picket lines.’

‘What were they doing – delivering stuff? And who paid for the extra deliveries? I’ll tell you who,’ he went on when she did not answer. ‘Your University – which you say is short of cash. It’s even shorter now.’

‘You keep bringing everything back to money.’

‘That’s what you learn from business. D’you know much about business?’

‘Nothing at all. But isn’t that supposed to be the point of the Shadow Scheme?’

‘I guess it’s a PR trick... I read in the paper somewhere, there’s no such thing as a free lunch. Someone always has to pick up the bill.’

‘They cut our salaries,’ said Robyn. ‘They can pay for the lorries out of that... Do you have many strikes here?’ she asked, in an effort to shift the focus of conversation.

‘Not any more,’ said Wilcox. ‘The employees know which side their bread is buttered. They look around this area, they see factories that have closed in the past few years, they know how many people are out of work.’

‘You mean, they’re afraid to strike?’

‘Why should they strike?’

‘I don’t know – but if they wanted to. For higher wages, say?’

‘This is a very competitive industry. A strike would plunge us deep into the red. The division could close down. The men know that!’

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