My wife persuaded me to join her on the Picket Line today. She is a social worker and Unison member. So off to Belfast.

Good to see Alex Attwood and Brian Heading of the SDLP out supporting the workers. Also got the chance to exchange pleasantries with members of the Workers Party (sic), a “Party” which seems to exist for the sole purpose of giving cover for shop stewards too cowardly to join the SDLP. The Workers Party is a non threatening alternative to Politics. (if you ignore their 1970s connexions……..and God knows they find it easy to ignore).

Typically the DUP, UUP and Jim Allister crossed the Picket Line at Stormont. Typically SDLP did not cross the Picket Line. And I have an unconfirmed sighting of at least one Alliance Party member on the Hill.

I saw some Sinn Féin MLAs at the Belfast City Hall rally. At least one of them having a hard time with pickets who see that Sinn Féin are trying to have this both ways. They voted FOR the cuts in the Executive and are out on the streets…………protesting their own decision!

The strike seemed well supported. Certainly Transport ceased. All Council Work seemed to cease.Government Departments were  behind the action but rural areas seemed more solid.  Health (save for the emergency staff in place) was also pretty solid.

The one area where there was division seems to be Education. I’d like to see an analysis of just what happened in the Education sector. In Scotland for example 90% of schools were closed but in Norn Iron the figure is just 60%. There is a marked reluctance of people of Faith from some of the reformed churches  to take strike action so I speculate that Catholic schools were more likely to be closed.