Teachers last went on strike in 2008 – the first national industrial action in two decades Schools could face a series of walk-outs from this summer over cuts to teachers’ pensions packages.
Delegates at the National Union of Teachers conference in Harrogate are to vote on whether to ballot for a strike.
If it is passed, they are likely to co-ordinate action with the Association of Teachers and Lecturers who voted to ballot on the issue last week.
Ministers say any changes to pensions will be fair, and that firm proposals will be set out in the autumn.
But Department for Education officials wrote to teaching unions in January setting out what they could expect.
And Schools Minister Nick Gibb has written to the heads of teaching unions asking them to come and discuss the issue with him.
“People are living longer – in the early 1970s life expectancy of a 60-year-old was around 18 years: now it is around 28 years”
Department for Education
A priority motion on the issue is to be debated in Harrogate on Saturday.
The unions are concerned that the coalition’s changes to public-sector pensions will mean they pay more, work longer and receive less when they retire.
It comes as the union publishes research suggesting two-thirds of its members would be more likely to quit teaching if their pension packages were reduced.
The government is planning changes to pensions schemes in all parts of the public sector, to save £2.8bn.
It asked Lord Hutton to draw up plans for this, which it has accepted in principle.
NUT general secretary Christine Blower said teachers were angry and felt they had been tricked over their pensions.
She said if the government did not take their complaints into consideration, teachers could be the first of a wave of public sector workers to walk out in protest over the cuts.
But she had no doubt they would be followed by other staff working in the public sector if ministers did not back down.
Ahead of the vote, the union published research after consulting 7,500 of its members.
It found two-thirds would be more likely to quit the profession if the proposed changes to their pensions went ahead.
Of these, a third said they would be very likely to leave their jobs.
Nearly 70% said they saw their pension as an important part of their pay when they joined the profession.
And 60% said their pensions remained an important factor in keeping them in teaching.
Ms Blower added: “The NUT survey proves what we have been saying – the government’s proposals are not just unfair and unnecessary, they will have a massive impact on the recruitment and retention to teaching.”
A Department for Education spokesman said: “Lord Hutton has made it clear that change is needed.
“People are living longer – in the early 1970s life expectancy of a 60-year-old was around 18 years: now it is around 28 years.
“We will set out proposals in the autumn that are affordable, sustainable, and fair to both the public sector workforce and taxpayers.”
NUT members last walked out in 2008 over pay. It was the union’s first national strike in 21 years.
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