Members of the ASTI begin balloting today on a proposal to ban supervision and substitution in secondary schools. If members support the ban, there could be serious disruption in schools before the end of the month.
Earlier this year, about 70 per cent of ASTI members voted in a ballot on pay, but a lower turnout is expected on this occasion.
Members are not being given a chance to vote on the Government's £27-per-hour offer on supervision. This has caused some anger within the ASTI, but taking a vote on a general ban is supported by the union's executive.
Union sources say a tighter-than-expected result is likely, although at this stage most believe the ban will be supported by a majority. The result of the ballot will be known on Friday.
The ASTI executive meets on Saturday to review the result and will decide when to withdraw supervision/substitution if the ban is supported.
Meanwhile, school managers and the Department are studying options in the event of a supervision withdrawal. School managers point out that any effort to recruit non-teachers could generate industrial-relations problems. School managers say it will be a particularly difficult, if not impossible, to recruit non-teachers to supervise, certainly in the short term.
One further problem has emerged. ASTI sources claim that anyone working within a school environment with children may need to be vetted by the Garda.
The result of a TUI postal ballot will not be known for several weeks.