PUBLIC sector angst against the budget cuts to be made by the Hodgman government was evident yesterday at 17 stopwork rallies held across Tasmania.

Up to 600 public sector employees stood outside the Inveresk Tramsheds listening to union leaders through a loud speaker, as another 400 people gathered inside the auditorium.

In Hobart, thousands of public sector workers marched to Parliament House lawns yesterday morning.

Teachers, teachers' assistants, health workers including paramedics, park rangers, prison staff, TasTAFE workers, government maintenance crews, Parliament House staff and other government personnel were among those taking part.

They walked off the job for two hours in protest against the government's plan to cut 266 Education Department jobs, 224 roles in Health and 174 State Growth Department positions.

Union leaders and school workers addressed the lively Hobart crowds, with chants of "Will tells lies" and "Good will's gone".

The sentiment in Launceston among those who chose to walk away from their workplaces for two hours was clear - they were angry, felt disempowered, disappointed, and had grave concerns for the future.

A trio of school social workers, Lisa Hudson, Alicia Hodge and Naomi Gelston, said they felt it was a time of uncertainty and wanted their voices to be heard.

Education Department employee Jane Eadie said she attended the strike to show her dissatisfaction towards funding cuts to education, and to support her colleagues.

"I am very concerned about where education is heading into the future - for young people in schools as well as the young people in the workforce," she said.

"I am in the years 11-12 sector and we have a huge number of students coming through with really high needs - behavioural management problems, all sorts of social issues, especially in this socio-economic environment of Launceston, and then you have students on refugee visas who need support.

"It concerns me that this added support is not going to happen."

Launceston General Hospital maintenance worker James Graham, who has worked in the public sector for 22 years, said he believed the government's actions - in first forcing a pay freeze and now forcing job cuts - were wrong.

Mr Graham described Premier Will Hodgman as a liar, and said voting Liberal at the last election could have "possibly backfired" for those who did.

He said he was worried about privatisation and job losses in his area.

"A lot of people see that it is the nurses who are getting cut, but as a plumber at the hospital - they'll possibly look at outsourcing these areas first," Mr Graham said.

"We provide a service that people don't see."

Unions Tasmania president Roz Madsen said the stopwork action involved 11 unions and was the largest industrial action since 1986.