The school day will be in disarray in Queensland, with teachers going on strike at state schools over pay, safety and staff shortages.
Thousands of Queensland teachers have walked off the job at state schools for the first time in 15 years.
Last week, union members voted for a 24-hour teacher strike after rejecting a state government pay offer.
Almost 600,000 students at state primary and high schools are expected to be affected.
The Queensland Teachers’ Union said its almost 50,000 members had voted to take industrial action, marking its first strike since 2009.
The strike action is also part of a campaign for safer classrooms and solutions to the teacher shortage, the union says.
“Together, teachers and school leaders will write a new chapter in Queensland’s history books and remind the government just how valuable we are to education in our state schools,” the Queensland Teachers’ Union said on Instagram.
Peak union body, the Queensland Council of Unions, urged parents to support the action and “if you’re able, keep your kids home and stand with teachers in their fight for the future of education”.
“Queensland students deserve the very best teachers and that means fair salaries, safe workplaces, and support that matches the scale of the challenges in our schools,” it said.
It comes after the Queensland government failed to secure a new teacher pay deal following 17 meetings with the union in the last five months.
A government offer of 3 per cent, 2.5 per cent and 2.5 per cent salary increases over the next three years was rejected by the teachers’ union in June, sparking protests.
