ABOUT 2000 teachers stopped work today to rally together in Civic Square for more pay from the ACT Government.

The teachers, Australian Education Union members, were from the territory’s 84 public schools from early childhood through to college.

AEU ACT Branch acting secretary Glenn Fowler said their key issue was the ACT teacher’s salary parity compared with NSW teachers.

“There is an issue with salary parity, we have in teachers in NSW most classroom teachers earning $6000 a year and deputy principals $15,000 a year more in NSW,” he said.

“It’s an unacceptable situation, our system being completely uncompetitive.

“The other issue is that there is an offer of salary parity in the first year for class form teachers but the offer in the subsequent year is 2.5 per cent and will drag our salaries down and undo all the progress done previously.

“On top of that our casual relief teachers in the ACT are paid $35 a day less than those in NSW which bridges less than half the gap and its an unacceptable situation.

“And our school counsellors – there needs to be a bold investment to bring people into this crucial role for the students to get the individual attention they need.”

Also attending the rally were representatives from the CPSU and the AEU, the overarching union body in the ACT.

Mr Fowler said the AEU were currently in talks with the ACT Government and the education directorate.

“We are making our voices heard here in Civic Square to make the government know that they have to quickly come to the table,” he said.

“Nobody likes the disruption caused by industrial action but we see no other option.

“It’s in the government’s hands now to address this problem immediately so that the Canberra community can get on with their lives as normal.”