The Secretary General of the Department of Education has warned that second level teachers will be effectively repudiating the Lansdowne Road Agreement if they cease to work additional hours - known as the Croke Park hours - from next September.
Addressing managers of the country's secondary schools at their annual conference in Killarney, Seán Ó Foghlú said teachers faced "a stark choice", and ran the risk of losing supervision and substitution payments due to be restored to them in September, as well as increments and improved terms.
Both the ASTI and the TUI trade unions, which represent second level teachers, voted against the Lansdowne Road Agreement.
The ASTI is about to ballot members on ceasing to work the so-called Croke Park hours from September.
The TUI meanwhile is currently engaged in talks with the Department of Education.
In his speech Mr Ó Foghlú warned that the issues at stake for ASTI members, and for schools, were very serious ones.
He criticised the union for not yet accepting an invitation to talks and said the Croke Park hours were a continuing requirement on all teachers under the Public Services Stability Agreement.
Mr Ó Foghlú said he was setting out this choice for teachers because the Department believed it was necessary that teachers' consideration of the issues was an informed one.
He said it had been reported that the Central Executive Committee of the ASTI has decided not to put full information on all of the possible implications of repudiation before its members.
He said if this was the case then it was "extraordinary".
On Junior Cycle reform the Secretary General urged the ASTI to re-engage with its membership and to allow them to get on with participating in training for, and delivery of, the new programme.
The President of the Joint Managerial Body told delegates it was of particular frustration and regret that all progress on implementing the new Junior Cycle programme in their schools was stalled.
Fr Paul Connell was also critical of the ASTI teachers union, which is refusing to cooperate with the reforms.
Fr Connell warned that the sector was facing into uncertain times, with a number of issues having the potential to cause massive disruption in schools.
He said these included the new Junior Cycle, the Croke Park hours, and other aspects around the Landsdowne Road agreement.
ASTI critical of timing of remarks
The ASTI has said it is unfortunate that Mr Ó Foghlú has chosen the eve of a trade union ballot to make such inflammatory remarks.
The union said it should be noted than an information newsletter on the Croke Park hours ballot had been issued to all ASTI members earlier this week and was available on the ASTI website.
It said that the unions 56 branches had also been asked to hold information meetings in order to ensure members had access to all the information they required.
The ASTI ballot on withdrawal from the Croke Park hours takes place from 4 May to 18 May.
The union said it was in continuous engagement with members through school, branch, regional and national structures.
All decisions were made democratically through transparent and accountable structures and decision-making mechanisms.
Children only receiving 85% of resource hours
The National Council for Special Education has confirmed that children who are in need of specialist resource teaching hours will continue to receive just 85% of what they are entitled to.
The council, which is responsible for allocating special education resources to schools, announced schools' Resource Teacher allocations for the next academic year today.
Next September will see almost 600 additional posts created.
The increase is to cater for growing pupil numbers in schools.
However, the 15% cuts to individual pupil allocations, introduced several years ago, will be maintained.
This means for instance that a child with autism who is normally entitled to five hours of additional resource teaching, will continue to receive just 85% of those five hours.
The Joint Managerial Body, which represents the country's religious run Secondary schools, called for a reversal of the 15% cut.
