Around two thousand people gathered in Victoria square today to support striking teachers and council workers. The rally was jointly called by five unions as a national teachers strike coincided with a two-day industrial action by thousands of Birmingham council workers over a new pay and grading structure imposed by the council on April 1st, which could see some workers lose up to half their pay. For the second day in a row, picket lines at council premises across the city were mounted and services disrupted, while more than half of Birmingham's schools were closed due to the NUT industrial strike.