Teachers from the Riverside School Board voted Tuesday evening in favour of six days of strikes.
The first English school board in the province to do so, 86 per cent of 460 voters were in favour of the tactic for a better deal in contract negotiations.
“We're feeling at wit's end because we have no resources to help the students in the classroom,” explained teacher Valerie Leonard.
Under the mandate, teachers would walk off the job for six non-consecutive days sometime after the Oct. 19 federal election.
Riverside Teachers Union was pleased with the result.
“It's been such an insult from the government that the hope is they hear our mandates loud and clear,” said union president Steven Le Sueur.
Teachers have been without a contract since April and many say this is one of the worst offers they've seen in a long time.
Teachers argue the government’s plan will make class sizes larger, cut resources for special needs students and offer very little in the way of a salary increase.
“We already are struggling with special needs students and with money and now they want to take away what we already have,” said teacher Amber Cooney. “This is a really bad deal for the kids.”
The union promises that the job action will be as a last resort if talks with the province continue to go nowhere.
Education Minister Francois Blais though isn't budging, saying the government intends to push forward with its plan.
Riverside School Board chair Dan Lamoureux said the board is caught in the middle of the conflict.
“We empathize with them but again our focus is on the children and how it's going to impact on them,” he said.
Fadi Tawil of the Riverside Parents’ Committee is urging parents to get involved.
“What we really need to do is have the parents call their MNAs and make sure that whatever changes are happening, that we are supporting the kids’ education quality and accessibility,” said Tawil.
Teachers under some of the other English school boards are expected to hold their strike votes next week.
