Teachers in the old East Germany have been on strike this week. The teachers are striking because 20 years after the reunification of Germany many teachers in the East still earn less than their colleagues in the West. There was a demonstration of several thousand in Potsdam, near the capital Berlin and in Dresden, 17,000 marched. Parents expressed support for the teachers saying that decent pay for staff and good conditions in schools were essential if children were to receive a good education. Another demand of the strikes and protests is the struggle for temporary teachers to be paid proper union rates.
