Picket Toolkit

Everything you need to know for the big day: locations, chants & faqs

🕺Picket Playlist:

Bring a speaker and keep the energy up with our strike themed tunes. The playlist below should be collaborative, so you can add your own too

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📣Chants:

Start a chant on your picket line to energise your colleagues and demand attention from passers-by

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🪧Picket FAQs

Where are the pickets?

We have to notify the university and the police of where we’re picketing, so must stick to these areas for our April strike dates:

1️⃣ Tuesday 14th April

Workplace pickets, 08:30 – 10:00 

• Arts Complex, 3-5 Woodland Road, BS8 1UJ 
• Arts and Social Sciences Library, 5 Tyndall Ave, BS8 1TJ  
• Augustine’s Courtyard, St Augustine’s Parade, BS1 4UR 
• Bill Brown, Queen’s Building, University Walk, BS8 1TR 
• Biomedical Sciences Building, Tankard’s Close, University Walk, BS8 1TD 
• Great George Street, 31 Great George St, BS1 5QD 

Core picket, 10:00 – 13:00: move on from your workplace picket to join more members at

• Wills Memorial Building, Queen’s Rd, Bristol BS8 1RJ 

2️⃣ Wednesday 15th April – Offer holder day 

Wednesday is an offer holder day so campus will be very busy. Members who took part in industrial action in Summer 2023 will remember that combining our strike action with similar events generated significant media coverage and was a large factor in bringing senior leadership to the negotiating table. 

We need to repeat this impact on Wednesday with a large, visible presence at all locations that are listed in the offer holder day activities: 

Lunchtime rally, 12:00 – 13:00 

• Senate House, Tyndall Ave, BS8 1TH 

Open day pickets, 13:00 – 16:00 

• Bill Brown, Queen’s Building, University Walk, BS8 1TR 
• H. H. Wills Physics Laboratory, Tyndall Avenue, BS8 1TL 
• Howard House, Queen’s Ave, BS8 1SD
• School of Chemistry, Cantock’s Close, BS8 1TS 
• Senate House, Tyndall Ave, BS8 1TH
• Wills Memorial Building, Queen’s Rd, Bristol BS8 1RJ 

3️⃣ Thursday 16th April 

Workplace pickets, 08:30 – 10:00 

• Arts Complex, 3-5 Woodland Road, BS8 1UJ 
• Arts and Social Sciences Library, 5 Tyndall Ave, BS8 1TJ  
• Augustine’s Courtyard, St Augustine’s Parade, BS1 4UR 
• Bill Brown, Queen’s Building, University Walk, BS8 1TR 
• Biomedical Sciences Building, Tankard’s Close, University Walk, BS8 1TD 
• Great George Street, 31 Great George St, BS1 5QD 

Core picket, 10:00 – 13:00 

• Senate House, Tyndall Ave, BS8 1TH  

🤫 Quiet picket, placard collection, rest, snacks, coordination  

UNISON office, 1D Priory Road, BS8 1TX 

🧑‍💻Online picket 

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, 10:00 – 11:00 

Can’t make it to a picket line? Enjoy the feelings of community and solidarity that come with collective action by joining our online picket meeting 😊 

➡️ https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/357701770887553?p=kuSjtGIvXpCUWFlvf7 

What are pickets?

Picket lines are boundaries established by workers on strike at the entrance/s to their place of work.

They are an important visible presence for our employer, students, other staff and the public, inviting conversations and change. They are joyful spaces: we play music, chant, and encourage traffic passing by to honk for us!

By law, people taking part in a picket can peacefully:

• Talk to people wanting to enter their workplace
• Explain why they’re striking
• Ask people not to cross the picket line

Picketers must not:

• Block or stop anyone entering the workplace or doing work
• Stop any vehicles entering the premises
• Threaten or abuse anyone (don’t call anyone a scab too loudly!)

When on strike, don’t cross the picket! If you need the toilet or a drink refill, go to the UNISON office (1D Priory Road).

👉 Read more here: Picketing – Strikes and industrial action – Acas

What do I need to bring?

Bring drinks, snacks, placards, speakers, instruments and energy! You can collect placards and UNISON merch (whistle, anyone?) from the office from 8am on strike days (1D Priory Road)

How many people can be on a picket?

There is no legal limit on the number of people on a picket line. The codes of practice for picketing recommend six people on a picket line, however, as long as the picket is peaceful and we aren’t completely blocking buildings, we can have more (we can just spread out a bit further down the road if needs be!)

What if we’re approached by security?

You will have a picket lead on your picket (wearing an armband/hi-vis) – direct any challengers to talk to them. Your picket lead will have direct contact details for our branch secretaries who will deal with any escalated issues

I haven’t been on strike before. What can I expect?

Hear from members who went on strike for the first time this year:

👉 Dispatches from the picket lines – University of Bristol UNISON