VANCOUVER - The head of B.C.'s teachers' union is calling on the provincial government to agree to binding arbitration to end a strike that would get students back to school.
Jim Iker says that's the only solution after efforts at mediation failed last weekend, leading to mounting frustration for teachers who want to teach and families who want their children back in classrooms.
He says the union will ask members to vote on ending their strike if the government agrees to binding arbitration, though the education minister has already panned the idea.
Iker says that along with agreeing to binding arbitration, the government would have to drop its proposal to keep class size and composition at current levels.
The union has already won two court victories on that issue, though the government has appealed the latest ruling, with a hearing scheduled for next month.
Iker says that as part of its request for binding arbitration, the union wants new money for more teachers and specialist teachers to improve learning conditions for students.
