Thousands of NSW public school teachers have "made history" in a mass protest at NSW Parliament as part of statewide industrial action to push for improved pay and conditions.
Teachers from Sydney, Newcastle, Wollongong and the Blue Mountains gathered at Hyde Park in Sydney's CBD on Tuesday, before marching to parliament where they filled a large stretch of Macquarie St.
Many wore red t-shirts and carried placards supporting the NSW Teachers Federation, which organised the action that has closed almost 400 state schools for 24 hours.
Union president Angelo Gavrielatos told the rally teachers had "had a gutful" of the state government, labelling its actions an "attack on the whole profession".
"Colleagues from across NSW, colleagues who've filled Macquarie St, you have made history today," he told the crowd.
"I want to thank every one of you, not for your attendance here today but rather for what you do every day, for your public service, what you do for the kids in your classroom ... I thank you, I salute you."
Unions NSW Secretary Mark Morey said the rally was about making sure teachers got paid fairly.
"Today is not the end, today is the start of industrial campaigning across this state to ensure everyone is paid appropriately,'' he told the rally.
The union says the government has failed to address unsustainable workloads, uncompetitive salaries and staff shortages.
They want a pay increase up to 7.5 per cent a year to reverse the decline in teachers' wages compared to other professions.
It's the first time in almost a decade that NSW teachers have walked off the job, in scenes reminiscent of the industrial turmoil of the 1980s.
Education Minister Sarah Mitchell said teachers have been offered a 2.5 per cent wage increase, the maximum the government can offer under its public sector wages policy.
She wants to work collaboratively with the union to address teacher shortages.
"We seem to hit a brick wall every time we try to talk about these matters," she told the Nine Network on Tuesday.
"Children have had a tough year already and parents have been disrupted by COVID. We need to be in the classroom and I am disappointed that they have taken this approach."
Meanwhile, train and bus services across Sydney and train services to the Hunter Valley, Blue Mountains and Central Coast are also being disrupted by industrial action, with 70 per cent of trains not running.
Bus commuters looking for alternative transport will be short of options, with train drivers refusing to operate the foreign-made trains that run about three quarters of the services.
Sydney Trains chief executive Matt Longland said the strikes followed more than 40 meetings between Sydney Trains, NSW TrainLink and the union.
Transport for NSW said Tuesday's strikes meant services would run to a reduced frequency on most lines, make additional station stops and take longer to reach their destination.
