The State School Teachers' Union of WA estimated more than 11,000 of its members walked off the job today, to demand higher pay from the state government.
WA's teachers' union has accepted the state government's contentious offer of a 2.75 per cent pay increase and signed off on a new, two-year agreement.
ANALYSIS: With close to a dozen industrial agreements under negotiation and a forecasted salaries bill of $16.2 billion, the state government is holding firm on its public sector wages policy.
Some in WA's education sector remain at odds over how and when to reopen schools, as the state takes steps to relax its strict social distancing policies.
Australian Medical Association of WA president Andrew Miller and the teachers' union have called for personal protective equipment (PPE) to be provided for use in the classroom, in a message that runs counter to government advice.
The State School Teachers' Union of WA is encouraging parents to keep students home where possible, highlighting increasing divisions over the state government's plans to recommence face-to-face learning next week.
The state government has said that classes will embark on a soft reopening in Term 2, as government and schools continue to debate whether teachers should have access to PPE.
The federal government has outlined seven principles for how public schools should respond to COVID-19, one day after Premier Mark McGowan reportedly began weighing whether to have classes return as normal in Term 2.
The state government has this morning announced that it is encouraging parents to keep their children at home, reflecting what it said were new guidelines based on national medical advice.
