<div style="text-align: justify; "><b style="font-size: 1rem;">Around 50,000 teachers in New Zealand went on strike on Thursday, after union talks with the Ministry of Education aimed at improving salaries and conditions stalled.</b><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Teachers demanding better pay waved placards declaring "can't afford the dentist" and "too poor to print good signs" as the one-day strike forced kindergartens as well as primary and secondary schools to close across the country.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Trade unions argued that the government's latest pay offer did not match inflation and that the education sector is at a "crisis point" due to teacher shortages.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"A quality education is a fundamental human right," Chris Abercrombie from the Post Primary Teachers' Association said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Tragically, as teachers we are seeing that right being slowly, and surely, undermined."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Improvements to teacher salaries and working conditions are essential to keep experienced staff and recruit graduates, he said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Teachers "want to send a message to the government about how serious we are about needing change", said Mark Potter, president of the New Zealand Educational Institute.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"We all want the best for our students but without changes to the system we can't give it to them."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Education Minister Jan Tinetti said she was disappointed to see teachers strike and wanted the dispute resolved quickly.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The cost of living has become a major political issue in New Zealand, as the government struggles to keep a lid on inflation.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Recent figures have suggested that New Zealand's economy is shrinking, fuelling fears of a looming recession. AFP</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>