Thousands of Victorian teachers, support staff and school leaders marched through Melbourne's CBD on Thursday, walking off the job for 24 hours in an escalating dispute with the Allan government over pay and conditions. A sea of protesters draped in Australian Education Union red gathered at the corner of Bourke and Swanston streets before marching on state parliament.

They braved the winter cold to make noise. "What do we want? More funding. When do we want it? Now," the crowd roared as the march set off, with a several-block stretch of Bourke Street closed to traffic. The placards were pointed: "Supporting teachers equals supporting students," read one; "My students could write a better offer," read another.

The walkout followed the rejection of the government's latest deal. Its revised offer — a 28.3% pay rise over four years, opening with a 12.75% increase by October — was narrowly voted down, opposed by 51.18% of members in a ballot the union called decisive.

For many on the street, the strike was reluctant rather than eager. One primary school teacher, quoted only as Brian after asking that his surname not be published, told the AAP wire service that educators felt they had run out of options. "We weren't champing at the bit to get out here and do this," he said. "I think we'd all rather be in the classroom."

The union's Victorian branch president, Justin Mullaly, said members were "deeply disappointed with the state government". He acknowledged the latest offer was "significant" but argued it was not enough to meet the needs of what he called overworked, underpaid educators — the union's long-running complaint that the fight is about workload and school funding as much as headline pay.

Some parents were sympathetic despite the disruption. Niki Galvin, who kept her children home for the day, told the wire service she backed the action. "Most parents instinctively understand how important it is that we attract and retain quality teachers," she said. The government, for its part, has cast the rejected package as one that would make Victorian teachers the best paid in the country.

With staff due back in classrooms today, the dispute itself is no closer to resolved. Enterprise-agreement bargaining has dragged on for close to a year, and Thursday's march was designed to put the rejection in front of the government in the most public way available. Whether it shifts the next offer — or simply sets up a third stoppage — is the question now hanging over Victoria's public schools.