Teachers are frustrated, demoralised and angry. Many feel their profession has been under assault for too long and are determined to go to war on a number of fronts.

Industrial action is looming this autumn on fronts ranging from lower pay scales for new teachers and extra working hours to junior cycle reform .

The next few weeks will be crucial if the spectre of strikes and school closures is to be avoided. Time, however, is running out fast.

With just two months to go before the end of the next school term, the opportunity to engage with teachers is short.

With no sign yet of a minister for education who might be able to make political headway with unions, the prospect of securing some kind of deal looks increasingly remote.

Key to resolving conflict will be some form of deal or collective agreement on pay or conditions that could bring the two main second-level unions back to the negotiating table.

Both the ASTI and the TUI have rejected the new Lansdowne Road agreement on public service pay.

The Haddington Road agreement, to which both are party, is due to run out at the end of June.

Against a backdrop of an economic recovery, there are rising expectations that public sector pay cuts can be clawed back through a new collective agreement.

Whether a new government will be able to offer financial commitments or assurances within such a tight timeframe is another question.

Teaching unions have many grievances that they feel – with some justification – are undermining the profession and making it a far less attractive career option for young people.

Lower pay scales for new entrants and the increasing proportion of newly qualified teachers is a serious problem.

However, any commitment to restore common basic pay levels for all teachers is likely to be costly, given the number of teachers affected.

Another complicating factor is that nurses and gardaí will be watching closely to see if any changes should apply to them.

But the pressure to resolve the issue has ramped up this week. The ASTI earlier this week voted in favour of balloting for strike action if the pay gap between recently recruited teachers and established colleagues was not closed.

The TUI already has a mandate for strike action if the issue is not resolved soon.

Croke Park hours

Then there is the issue of so-called Croke Park hours, which teachers are obliged to carry out.

These “petty and vindictive” hours – typically dedicated to staff meetings – are despised by teachers .

The ASTI voted yesterday to stop fulfilling these 33 hours of additional work, which were introduced in the depths of the country’s economic crisis.

This may well have serious consequences in the autumn.

It would most likely be seen as a repudiation of the national pay deal by the government.

Under financial emergency measures that are already in place, it could trigger financial penalties for teachers who are not co-operating.

The ASTI’s general secretary Kieran Christie warned members yesterday there was no guarantee of getting any agreement on this point.

“We don’t know who will be in government or who will be minister.

“We will also have to see if we can make common cause with the TUI. But as I say it will be a big ticket item for us this year.”

There is also the prospect of industrial action over the long-running issue of junior cycle reform.

The ASTI yesterday deepened it opposition to these reforms.

Last year, the Department of Education watered down proposals on assessment by maintaining an externally assessed State exam, and reducing teachers’ roles to classroom-based assessments.

However, the ASTI has threatened a series of one-day strikes in the autumn if its concerns are not addressed.

Yesterday’s motion will not make resolving this long-running issue any easier.

Anger, however, is not a policy. Teachers – at least in the ASTI – seem to lack a coherent long-term strategy or endgame.

Noel Buckley, a member of the union’s central executive committee, sounded a word of warning to his fellow delegates.

He insisted the single biggest issue facing his union was the pay gap between newly qualified teachers and their more experienced colleagues.

“We’re in the business of opening up too many war fronts,” he said.

However, when it came to vote, he was in a small minority.