The three unions - which are working together in a co-ordinated way with other public sector unions - are urging their members to vote yes to industrial action.

Incoming INTO General Secretary Sheila Nunan said it was clear the government was actively considering further cuts to public sector pay and pensions in the run-up to the Budget on December 9. 

If the report of the 'Special Group on Public Service Numbers and Expenditure Programmes' (McCarthy Report) is implemented, teachers face longer hours, more work and salary cuts of more than €50 million a year, she said.

The results of the ballots will be known in mid-November.

All of the teacher unions - ASTI, IFUT, INTO and TUI - are also encouraging their members to participate in the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) day of protest on November 6.

The Union of Students in Ireland (USI) is also supporting the planned strikes by the ICTU. Peter Mannion, USI president, said:

"The USI represents over 250,000 students nationwide. We are taking this opportunity to urge these students to join the ICTU strikes, which have been organised over the coming weeks around the country.

"We are impelling the students of Ireland to demand a better future for themselves. Our students are tomorrow’s graduates and any changes in pay or working conditions in the public sector will directly affect them in years to come..”

But parents' leader Jim Moore, president of the National Parents' Council Post Primary, said that teacher unions should remain in talks rather than close down schools.

"We would feel our children's education shouldn't be interrupted in this way," he said.

Tánaiste Mary Coughlan said the Government's preference was to have talks rather than strikes. She said it would be better if everyone came together for the betterment of the country.