Representatives of hundreds of VEC staff will meet with Department of Education officials tomorrow in a bid to avert industrial action.
The 700 IMPACT-represented staff are in dispute over an alleged failure for employers to implement restructuring at the VECs. The union is also seeking extra staff to deal with additional work from new supervision and substitution arrangements.
The IMPACT National Secretary Mr Al Butler said: "Administrative staff cannot deliver better services without adequate staffing. We want to avoid next week's strike. But that requires management to put forward a serious offer on staffing."