Tasmanian state school teachers have walked off the job this morning, leaving many parents in the lurch.
Teachers gathered in Hobart, Launceston, Devonport and Burnie to rally for better pay and conditions.
State schools were not officially open until 10: 30 am because of the two-hour stop work meeting.
Last Friday, the state government proposed an average annual pay rise of 2.75 per cent over four years, as well as a one-off $1,500 bonus for all state service workers.
The Australian Education Union said the offer did not do anything to reduce teachers' workloads, and that the pay increase would still see Tasmanian teachers pay less than their interstate counterparts, and was slammed by unions as arrogant.
AEU state president David Genford said teachers and support staff were suffering from burnout and leaving the profession.
AEU educators spent more than 14 months negotiating with the Rockliff Government, who have failed to support one of our Lifting Learning solutions to Tasmania's overstretched public education system, all while student learning suffers, he said.
Fed up' teachers want to be heard.
Hellyer College laboratory technician Mandy Jackson was one of about 150 people who attended the Burnie stop-work meeting.
There are no relief laboratory technicians on the north-west coast. She said that if I am sick, there is no one to do my job.
I am fed up for my young colleagues, and I am fed up with that.
Miranda Debeljakovic, a secondary teacher, says teachers want the government to sit down, listen and believe them.
It stems from the emotional drain. You find yourself waking up in the middle of the night thinking, What am I going to do about this kid? What should I do to deal with this problem? She said that you don't have a solution.
While some parents tried to arrange childcare for the strike, care was available for those with no alternative.
Many of the children dropping off at Hobart's Landsdowne Crescent Primary School were happy to wear the disruption.
Laura Michaelson said that we're happy to do what we need to do in support of our teachers.
Our teachers do an amazing job, and you couldn't pay me double what they get paid to do that job. Kate, who did not give her surname, said, "I think we should be supporting them more."
It was the same story at East Launceston Primary School.
One father said that he's all for the strike. It makes sense to pay parity with the mainland. Labor leader Rebecca White has accused the government of prioritizing building a new AFL stadium over resources for the education system.
The government has pledged to pay half of the bill for a new multi-use stadium at Macquarie Point in Hobart as part of a bid to secure a Tasmanian AFL team.
Why is building a 750 million dollar stadium more important than ensuring our schools are properly resourced, our educators are supported and our students get a great education? She said it was because it seems like it.
Premier Jeremy Rockliff said the government was ready to negotiate in good faith with the education union.
To support our teachers when it comes to workload, to support our teachers when it comes to professional development, to support our teachers in building capacity in a system of education based on equity.