The country’s largest teachers’ union announced a two-day national strike after talks with the education ministry broke down, with the union insisting that a proposed 6% pay offer falls far short of what is needed to restore real earnings eroded by three years of elevated inflation.
The union is seeking a 15% increase over two years and improved provisions for professional development and classroom resource funding. The ministry argued that the union’s demands are fiscally unsustainable within the current budget framework.
The strike will affect an estimated 1.4 million pupils and is the first coordinated national action by the union in more than a decade.
