(Bloomberg) -- Thousands of teachers walked off work across Hungary to protest low pay, defying a warning from Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government that they risked losing their jobs if they do so.

Parents and students also joined in solidarity, in some cases forming human chains outside of schools, Telex news website reported on Friday. They also protested poor working conditions, high workload and state interference in the curriculum. 

Hungarian Teachers Blame Government for Pressure Over Protests

The walkouts raise the stakes for Hungary’s premier, whose government has adopted a hardline approach against teachers. Hungarian teachers earn the second-lowest wage among the 38 member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.|

Authorities fired five high-school teachers in September for civil disobedience, prompting a nationwide walkout earlier this month and a protest by tens of thousands in Budapest. Teachers across the country then received notices that they may be dismissed from their jobs the next time they participated in a strike.

Orban’s government has tied raising teacher wages to accessing billions of euros in European Union funds, which are currently blocked over the alleged spread of corruption under the premier’s 12-year rule.

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