Teacher unions want to "bury their heads in the sand" over the issue of whether the promotions system in schools is discriminatory, according to the general secretary of the Irish Vocational Education Association (IVEA), Mr Michael Moriarty.
He said the unions wanted to "blindly steam ahead" even though the system could be discriminatory against female staff.
The IVEA has suspended interviews for promotional posts because it is concerned that the use of seniority in such appointments could place women at a disadvantage. It has got legal advice that the current system may contravene the Employment Equality Act because there are more senior male teachers than females.
Mr Moriarty, speaking at this week's Irish Vocational Education Association conference in Tralee, appealed to the Teachers Union of Ireland (TUI) to call off industrial action planned for some schools over the issue.
The TUI is taking action because it strongly objects to the IVEA suspending interviews for such posts, which involve additional responsibilities and money for teachers.
Mr Moriarty said the Department of Education had received legal advice from the Attorney General and the outcome of this was that changes would have to be made. He said in the light of this the TUI's actions were "wasteful" and served no purpose.
"We are trying to protect our cohort of female staff from discrimination," he told the conference. He said the only way to resolve the issue was for the Department of Education to sit down and find a way to clarify all legal matters. He said there was no point in having a "flawed" selection process for promotional posts - known as A and B posts - that would only end up in the courts later.