This was a success, and in 1964, the unions merged fully, forming the JTA.
[1][2] The JTA was more militant than any of the former unions, and in 1966 it organised the country's first national teachers' strike.
This was successful in securing pay increases, and led to five further strikes over the next 20 years.
[1] By the 1990s, the union had 18,000 members, which it claimed included 90% of the country's state schoolteachers.
It ran a credit union, a housing co-operative, and a publishing house, in addition to establishing a code of ethics for teachers.