Jim Iker, President of the British Columbia Teachers Federation, speaks in a Sept., 9, 2013 photo in Vancouver. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
March 06, 2014 - 9:56 PM
VANCOUVER - The union representing 41,000 teachers in British Columbia has voted overwhelmingly in favour of job action.
B.C. Teachers' Federation president Jim Iker says a little more than 26,000 teachers, or 89 per cent of those who voted, cast ballots in favour of the job action during the three-day vote that wrapped up Thursday.
Iker says any job action would first be administrative, and the union would consult its members again before any provincewide walkout.
Teachers have been without a contract since June 2013, and outstanding issued include wages, class sizes and class composition.
The Supreme Court of B.C. recently struck down legislation removing class size and composition provisions from the teachers' contract, concluded the government tried to provoke a strike, and awarded the teachers' union $2 million in damages.
The provincial government has launched an appeal of the decision and successfully applied to have last month's court ruling put on hold until that appeal is heard.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2014