It was announced on Monday that teachers and school staff in Wales will strike across four days in February and March after voting for industrial action. Members from both the NAHT and NEU unions voted to strike in a dispute over pay and conditions.
Teachers, headteachers, support staff and other school workers in Wales will strike on February 1, February 14, March 15 and March 16. This means school closures are very much on the cards for those days and parents will need to find childcare.
On Tuesday, WalesOnline went out to the city centre to see what the general public thought about teachers going on strike and if they supported the decision.
Read more: Exact dates teachers plan to strike and schools may have to close
Michael Monks, 64, from Whitchurch said: "I think people should get a fair day's pay for a fair day's work. Pay has been eroded over the last few years and people's standard of living has dropped so much now that enough is enough and they need to stand up to get a decent wage for what they do."
Michael said that he has two grandchildren in school, but they have two sets of grandparents who could look after them if the schools were closed. He added: "I understand it can cause an inconvenience for people but it's a last resort. Teachers are so desperate this is the last action they can take."
Ben Alberts, 18, is originally from South Africa but has moved to Cardiff to attend university. He said: "I think it's definitely a worthy cause. It hasn't affected me much but I know it's a really important thing to be happening and a lot of the teachers deserve better pay. I know there can be some annoyance around the strikes but I definitely think it's worth it." When asked if it could disrupt students learning, he added: "Four days isn't much and they could definitely catch up."
Sharon Hayes, 57, from Blackwood, said: "I think that if it's the only thing that they're able to do to be heard then I think it's a good idea. There has been a lot of disruption over education in the last few years and I think the professionals are just not getting heard about what they need."
She added: "I think it will be very difficult for working mums because it is very difficult to get affordable childcare so when teachers do things like this it does affect the working mums."
Dan Ward, 35, is originally from Liverpool but now lives in Cardiff. He said: "I think it's understandable. There's a reason why people across the public sector are going on strike.
"We all know teachers that work and we all know how stressful those jobs are. There's a high percentage of teachers who leave after five years of graduating which just shows that things aren't right. We've had a real lack of investment in our public infrastructure in the past 10 to 12 years and I think we're just seeing the repercussions of that now alongside the cost of living crisis. We have to recognise that people need to be paid more - a decent wage and invest in having enough teachers.
"I understand that it's a disruption for people but in the end, this is about who we want to be as a society. Do we want to get paid a fair wage and decent working conditions, do you want your teacher to be stressed or do you want them to be happy at their job and do it well? Good luck to them and hopefully we see some progress."
Anthony Green, 32, agrees and thinks more needs to be done to get better living and working conditions in general. He said: "I completely agree with the intentions behind the strike and I think we have a system at the moment that favours private over the public sector. I think a lot of the public sector is taken advantage of in terms of working conditions and pay. I completely understand the reasons for it. I think as a nation we need to get far more comfortable with advocacy for the things we want to better living and working conditions in general."
Robert Lima, 46, from Cardiff has children who attend private school and won't be affected by the strike action. He said: "When they took the job on they knew what their salary was but now they feel they're entitled to more money, which doesn't mean they should strike."
He added: "We need to get over this initial Covid stage and work our way out of this problematic world that we're living in and try to work through these problems as opposed to everyone striking."
Jane Lenny, 58, from Cardiff Bay, disagrees with the strike action taking place. She believes that teachers are getting more money than most people, she said: "there's was lots of people on low income during Covid and not being able to go to work during lockdown but teachers were able to work all the way through and get a wage." She added: "They're supposed to be teaching the next generation of children and education is suffering anyway because [the children] had two years off - it's a very stressful time for children."
Jane added that people who don't have a support network or a nursery setting available will struggle during the strike days, as most employers "aren't flexible," especially those working in the hospitality industry.
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