Thousands of health and education workers are on strike in Northern Ireland today.
Teachers are staging a 12-hour strike, due to end at midday, in a dispute over pay and the future of the profession.
Schools will reopen at noon to provide free school meals.
The NASUWT union said teachers are calling for a 12% increase in salaries.
Oakwood School in south Belfast was among those where staff manned picket lines this morning.
Addele Lynas has been a teacher at the school for 29 years, and said that while taking part in a strike is hard for teachers, they have to do it to secure fair pay.
"I have been a special teacher all my life, the children are so important to me, I love every one of them, they're like part of my own family, but I feel I have to strike because the budget cuts in our school are ridiculous," she said.
"We don't have enough money to spend on anything, but as well as that, as a person, my wages have gone down in real terms by 38%. I'm a single income family and I need, like everybody else, money to pay bills, bills that are going up and up, and my wages haven't.
"Although I love the children, and it's really hard to be here, it is important for workers everywhere to be here."
She said that while a 12% increase sounds like a lot, teachers' wages have gone down by 38% in real terms.
"We just want fair pay for a fair job, we love our jobs, we're here because we love the children, we want to be in the school with the children," she said.
Gerry Murphy, northern secretary of the INTO union, said teachers hope to encourage employers and the Department of Education to get round the negotiating table.
"The decision to strike is one INTO members have not rushed into - indeed all of the recognised teacher trade unions have been very careful to manage this dispute in a way to minimise the disruption to the education of the children and young people in their care," he said.
"The harm being wrought across the education system due to systematic underfunding over the past decade is the real threat to the future of our children and young people.
"INTO members and their colleagues in the other recognised teacher unions have had enough.
"Enough of being forced to accept salaries that have not increased in real terms over the last 15 years, enough of increased workloads, enough of being forced to compensate for lack of resourcing and support for those in their care.
"Teachers are reasonable and sensible people and when they are moved to take strike action then the Government should listen.
"The five recognised teachers' unions are working together to achieve a decent and fair pay rise for all teachers and school leaders."
Responding, the Education Authority (EA) said active engagement has been taking place for many months between management and the Teachers' Negotiating Committee (TNC) on a pay settlement for 2021/22 and 2022/23.
"However, it is important to note these negotiations are taking place at a time of growing and unprecedented financial pressures within the education sector which continue to adversely impact schools, staff and ultimately children and young people," an EA spokesperson said.
"Management side remains committed to continuing meaningful, active engagement with trade union colleagues to reach a resolution and ensure our teachers are fairly remunerated."
Some health workers are also striking over pay and conditions.
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The Nipsa union said thousands of its members in the health service are taking part in a 24-hour strike.
They include workers in domiciliary care, social work, ambulance workers, administration and nursing staff.
Padraig Mulholland, Nipsa deputy general secretary, said action by education and health workers is a "warning to employers that workers are not prepared to accept real-terms pay cuts and the destruction of services".
Both health workers and teachers converged on Belfast City Hall and other regional venues for joint rallies.
Unite, which represents many healthcare workers, including ambulance personnel, said 4,000 of its members would be taking action.
"With chronic low pay making it impossible to recruit and retain essential health workers, the health service in Northern Ireland is facing an existential crisis," said General Secretary Sharon Graham.
Additional reporting Conor Macauley
