The three teachers' unions will this week begin preparations for strike action in the autumn if a new pay review fails to deliver a substantial salary increase for their 50,000 members.
At their conferences this week, the INTO, the TUI and the ASTI will begin work on contingency plans for a range of industrial action - should the benchmarking review disappoint members.
Early indications from education sources suggest teachers could gain an increase of over 10 per cent over and above the current PPF. But with the benchmarking body still deliberating, this is a provisional estimate.
The INTO and the TUI are seeking increases of more than 30 per cent. There is expected to be heated debate at the TUI conference where several branches have instructed the union to take "immediate and sustained" industrial action if benchmarking fails to deliver.
The INTO conference will see the departure of INTO general secretary, Senator Joe O'Toole, after a decade in charge. His successor, Mr John Carr, will outline the union's determination to press ahead with industrial action if its pay objectives are not met.
The ASTI conference will debate two contentious motions: one on whether the union will rejoin ICTU and the other on whether it should re-enter talks on supervision/substitution with the Minister for Education, Dr Woods. The union's former president Ms Bernadine O'Sullivan is expected to be nominated for the Senate by delegates. The conference will be addressed by the former ASTI general secretary, Mr Kieran Mulvey, now chief executive of the Labour Relations Commission.
Amid reports of a grassroots revolt in the ASTI, the union will consider plans to allow ballots in schools rather than at branch meetings, which are often poorly attended.
The bitter internal divisions between the leadership and some senior figures in the union may also surface. Last week Mr Charlie Lennon, general secretary, and Ms Catherine Fitzpatrick, strongly rejected criticisms in a document circulated to schools. On her website (bernadineosullivan.com) Ms O'Sullivan has accused the leadership of failing to deliver for teachers.
Dr Woods is due to visit all three conferences and is likely to face a hostile reception from the ASTI. Last year delegates walked out when he addressed its conference in Galway.
The conference will be attended by the chairwoman of the National Parent's Council, Ms Marie Danaswamy. Last year she was at the centre of controversy when she alleged a fellow parent was struck in the bar.
Meanwhile, Dr Woods has formally launched the new Educational Disadvantage Committee.
The committee, the first of its kind, will advise the Minister on policies and strategies to be adopted to identify and correct educational disadvantage including:
• The creation, co-ordination and implementation of new and existing initiatives
• The identification and commissioning of research and evaluation
• In-career development for teachers and other personnel serving the needs of those experiencing educational disadvantage.