More than a million children had an extra day off school today as teachers walked out on strike disrupting a third of schools in England and Wales.
The National Union of Teachers (NUT) called for the industrial action, the first in more than twenty years, in response to a 2.45% pay award which they argue equates to a pay cut in real terms.
The walkout has affected at least 8,000 schools in England and Wales forcing many parents to stay off work or make alternative childcare arrangements.
This one-day strike, condemned by all the main political parties, is the opening move in what the NUT says will be a long-term campaign over pay.
Christine Blowers, acting general secretary of the NUT, said: "I'm here today leading the strike action that was so well supported by Steve [Sinnott, the general secretary] before his tragic death a couple of weeks ago.
"What I would say to government is that we're very serious about education in the NUT and we believe that teachers, having had three years of below-inflation pay increases with a further three years to come, will mean not only our members will suffer in terms of pay levels but we won't be able to recruit the brightest and the best of graduates into teaching to do that job that we all love and is the most important in society."
The Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, said that the strike had been support by only a minority of teachers and that it was regrettable for both pupils and parents.
Mr Brown added: "I hope we can move forward in the next few months and get a sure settlement of this."
Teachers have been manning picket lines outside their schools, waving placards and handing out leaflets to drum up support for their cause.
Some metropolitan boroughs were particularly hard hit by the protests with widespread disruption reported in Liverpool, Birmingham, Leeds and Inner London as well as some rural counties.
The Government's three-year pay deal for teachers is worth 2.45% this year, and then increases of 2.3% in the following years.
The National Union of Teachers (NUT) called for the industrial action, the first in more than twenty years, in response to a 2.45% pay award which they argue equates to a pay cut in real terms.
The walkout has affected at least 8,000 schools in England and Wales forcing many parents to stay off work or make alternative childcare arrangements.
This one-day strike, condemned by all the main political parties, is the opening move in what the NUT says will be a long-term campaign over pay.
Christine Blowers, acting general secretary of the NUT, said: "I'm here today leading the strike action that was so well supported by Steve [Sinnott, the general secretary] before his tragic death a couple of weeks ago.
"What I would say to government is that we're very serious about education in the NUT and we believe that teachers, having had three years of below-inflation pay increases with a further three years to come, will mean not only our members will suffer in terms of pay levels but we won't be able to recruit the brightest and the best of graduates into teaching to do that job that we all love and is the most important in society."
The Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, said that the strike had been support by only a minority of teachers and that it was regrettable for both pupils and parents.
Mr Brown added: "I hope we can move forward in the next few months and get a sure settlement of this."
Teachers have been manning picket lines outside their schools, waving placards and handing out leaflets to drum up support for their cause.
Some metropolitan boroughs were particularly hard hit by the protests with widespread disruption reported in Liverpool, Birmingham, Leeds and Inner London as well as some rural counties.
The Government's three-year pay deal for teachers is worth 2.45% this year, and then increases of 2.3% in the following years.
