Teachers at an English language school in Dublin city are to hold a three-hour work stoppage.

Teachers at Delfin Language School in the city centre will go on strike on Monday in dispute over pay and conditions.

The Unite trade union says the school, based on Parnell Square, has "refused to recognise and negotiate with representatives" of the union.

The school is based in a Georgian building and includes a café, computer room and cinema room.

Unite regional officer Brendan Byrne explains the reasons for the dispute.

He says: "The workers have been left with no alternative but to take industrial action as a result of the approach taken by management.

"They have totally failed to address the concerns of the workforce in relation to three main areas of contention: the need for pay to reflect the increased cost of living, the volume of unpaid work done... on a daily basis, and the fact that teachers are left with no choice but to sign on for social welfare payments over the Christmas period.

"The workforce has attempted continuously to engage with management through Unite’s best offices.

"Unfortunately management has adopted an approach of refusing to recognise or negotiate with ourselves."

He adds that staff regret that things have come to this point.

"The teachers want to do their jobs but working conditions in the sector are just unacceptable."

"The workers have decided to restrict their initial action to only a three hour stoppage - hopefully this will act as a catalyst for management to adopt a more conciliatory approach".