Members of the BC Teachers' Federation have voted 90 per cent in favour of a strike if contract negotiations with the province fail.
More than 28,000 teachers participated in the vote – which was conducted on June 24, 27 and 28 – representing about 70 per cent of regular and substitute teachers.
The federation says the overwhelming support for job action follows a decade of budget cuts and a campaign to "turn back the clock" on teachers' rights and provisions.
"The government and the employer are offering nothing to teachers and at the same time demanding much from us in terms of massive concessions and trade-offs," president Susan Lambert said in a statement.
The teachers say they're fighting for improved teaching conditions, salary and benefit improvements and the restoration of local bargaining rights. If no progress is made in bargaining over the summer, job action will begin on Sept. 6, the first day of the new school year.
The federation says teachers will continue teaching, communicating with parents and fulfilling classroom duties in the fall, but will cease completing administrative work.
"Teachers will be focused on excellence in our classrooms," Lambert said. "Because we won't be doing all the many bureaucratic and administrative tasks that have been added onto our jobs, we'll have more time to teach, to offer individual attention to students, and to keep in close communication with parents."
The teachers' current contract, signed in 2006, expires on Thursday. It included wage increases amounting to roughly 16 per cent as well as bonuses.
The BCTF says teachers in the province were the third highest paid in Canada five years ago, but have since dropped to eight.
But Education Minister George Abbott has said his ministry must stick to its current zero wage-increase policy for the public sector, including educators.
Abbott issued a statement Wednesday afternoon saying he still hopes to avoid a September strike.
"There is nothing inevitable here and it's important that the parties continue to exchange proposals and continue to work hard and try to reach an agreement," Abbott said.
