Thousands of Australian teachers gone on strike with 600,000 students affected

Thousands of Queensland teachers have downed pens and walked off the job without pay for the first time in 16 years, Report informs via The Guardian.

In Brisbane, members of the Queensland Teachers’ Union held placards as they marched on state parliament demanding better pay and conditions after government negotiations broke down.

The march was among 30 rallies held across Queensland on Wednesday after more than 50,000 members voted to strike for the first time since 2009.

The union believes it to be its biggest strike ever and it comes as a number of other public-sector unions remain locked in negotiations with the state government.

The strike disrupted hundreds of state schools – with 600,000 primary and high school students estimated to have been affected.

For nearly six months, the Queensland Teachers’ Union has been locked in negotiations for a new enterprise bargaining agreement.

The union’s president, Cresta Richardson, said the main priorities were attraction and retention of staff, reducing occupational violence, school resourcing, respect for the profession and salary.

But after 18 meetings, the state government’s pay offer remains exactly the same: 8% over three years, known as the “state wage policy”.

The industrial relations minister and deputy premier, Jarrod Bleijie, said the state wage policy “is the policy of government” and has been agreed to by cabinet.