Schools across Northern Ireland are facing major disruption and possible closures on Thursday as thousands of non-teaching staff go on strike.
Classroom assistants, bus drivers, catering staff, cleaners and other support workers are walking out at hundreds of schools.
Four of the big unions have called the action in an escalating row over pay.
A representative from one of the unions said 15,000 to 20,000 are expected to take part in Thursday’s action.
The Department of Education (DE) said it could not afford to increase wages on its current budget.
Officials said they would need extra funding to do so and were working with the Education Authority (EA) to try to resolve the matter.
The Education Authority said it expected “significant disruption” to schools on Thursday, in areas such as transport, school meals and cleaning services.
It would also have a “major impact on the availability of classroom assistants in schools”.
The unions said there had been a failure to implement a long-standing review that would lead to pay increases.
Unison, Unite and GMB members who are employed by the EA will walk out for the full day on Thursday.
Nipsa members will strike for two hours after the start of their shifts.
Raymond McFeeters, principal of Ardnashee Special School and College in Londonderry, said his staff have the school’s support.
He said classroom assistants do “an amazing job” but have been made to feel “undervalued”.
Despite the responsibility and often complex work their job entails, many are paid little more than minimum wage, he added.
“One of the big problems is they can earn more money by going to other jobs with much less responsibility and which are much less challenging,” he said.
“If we don’t support our staff in taking this action, we may lose a lot of staff and then we won’t be able to function at all.
“We understand the difficulties it presents to parents, but I think the majority of parents are very sympathetic as well to this action.”
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The Department of Education said a pay proposal put forward by the Education Authority and trade unions would have a significant cost.
The initial annual implementation cost for the EA would be £39m, with the subsequent recurring cost rising to £71m after three years, according to the department.
“However, there is currently no budget available to implement this without further funding being made available.”
Unite’s regional officer Kieran Ellison blamed the Department of Education for the action.
“Responsibility for this escalation in industrial action lies wholly with the obstructive behaviour of senior management at the Department of Education who have failed to act,” he said.
Unison’s lead negotiator for education, Anne Speed, also said it was time for a “fair reform” of pay.
“The draconian cuts to the education budget delivered by (Northern Ireland Secretary) Chris Heaton-Harris have not only obstructed settlement of this issue, these cuts have drastically reduced or eliminated support services to pupils,” she said.
“Funding for education must not only be restored, it has to be increased.”
The senior organiser of the GMB in Northern Ireland, Alan Perry, told BBC News NI the strike would have a huge impact on schools with “many if not all having to close”.
“In the worst cost-of-living crisis, workers deserve decent pay,” he said.
Unison official, Anne Speed, said staff were still not being paid fairly for their work because of the delays in “sorting out this mess”.
“The Department for Education in Northern Ireland can’t continue to wring its hands and do nothing. Officials must allow the Education Authority to begin talks to settle this dispute.”
Patrick Mulholland, from Nipsa, said there were two crucial points which led to action; the proposed education budget cuts and pay inequality.
“What we are planning to do is a very important step, we are digging in to say enough is enough, we are not prepared to see our education system go in an entirely negative direction,” he told BBC’s Good Morning Ulster programme.
“We are saying to everyone to stand with us, this is a defence of education.”
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