LABOUR and Plaid Cymru AMs today joined striking civil servants in a protest about changes to their redundancy schemes.

Members of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) Union were on the second day of a UK-wide 48-hour stoppage which has forced changes to the Assembly's timetable.

Although the union's dispute is with the UK Government, today's plenary session, including First Minister's questions, has been moved to tomorrow morning.

AMs will sit all day on Wednesday in an attempt to get the week's business through.

Members of the Labour-Plaid coalition, who have refused to cross civil servants' picket lines in Cardiff Bay, joined PCS members on the steps of the Senedd.

Plaid AM Leanne Wood, chairwoman of the Assembly's all-party PCS group, said: "The workers that are on strike here today are the people who do a really good job of making sure the Assembly runs smoothly.

"It's all about putting pressure on the UK Government to go back to the negotiating table with Acas (the conciliation service)."

Labour AM Jeff Cuthbert said: "They have a right, a democratic right, to organise industrial action and we will respect that. I hope it's not necessary for further action, but we will see."

But the Tories said the move sets a "dangerous precedent".

At his weekly press briefing, opposition leader Nick Bourne said he respected the workers' right to strike, but added: "We have been elected to do a job of work. It's important that we do that."

Liberal Democrat AM Jenny Randerson said First Minister Carwyn Jones, "must provide leadership so that democracy can continue".

"You can make arrangements for one week, but if this were to go on for a month - just think about this – it would imperil the Government's legislative programme," she said.

The union says 80 per cent of its Welsh members supported the first day of the strike, but the Cabinet Office disputes the numbers taking part.

Business in the Scottish Parliament has also been interrupted.