Hundreds of lecturers and teachers are taking to the picket lines in Waterford this morning.
The members of the Teachers Union of Ireland are striking over pay discrimination.
Most secondary schools in Waterford will be open as normal however seven are affected by the action.
They are Mount Sion, St Paul's, the Presentation, St Declan's Kilmac, the Abbey in Ferrybank, Meanscoil san Nioclás and Dungarvan College.
Waterford College of Further Education will also be closed.
WIT is open however hundreds of members of the TUI will be protesting at all campuses.
Dr Kathleen Moore Walsh is the Branch Secretary of the TUI at Waterford IT, she says pay parity is a huge issue.
"In the first ten years of a career, an Assistant Lecturer appointed after 1st January 2011 earns 3% or over €15,000 less than a pre-2011 hired Assistant Lecturer although they do exactly the same work."
She says they're looking for fairness
"It's to end the discrimination against these, for the most part, younger members of staff
In some areas, it has become very difficult to attract lecturers. Obviously, if you can't provide or recruit lecturers it's going to have an impact on the quality of services given to students."
Dr Moore Walsh explains what form their strike will take.
"We'll be out on the picket lines, it's a 24-hour strike, we will down all tools, there won't be any marking or email usage.
"We will be at the Cork Road Campus, College Street, Carriganore and at the Granary on the Quay."
