Teacher support to escalate job action was running strong in the second day of voting, according to a local union official.

Surrey Teachers' Association president Denise Moffatt said on Wednesday that reports filtering into the association's office indicate that teachers are turning out at the polls en mass.

Results of the vote are expected Thursday morning, Moffatt said.

Teachers across the province could be in a position to walk off the job as early as Monday.

Earlier this week, the Labour Relations Board ruled that teachers can walk off the job for three consecutive days, then one day a week.

Moffatt said the situation continues to evolve rapidly and making any definitive statements at this stage would be premature.

She said the union would have to give the school district two days notice before taking any further job action.

The B.C. Teachers' Federation launched "teach-only" job action on the first day of school last September.

Teachers have been refusing to do supervision and paper work.

On Tuesday, Education Minister George Abbott introduced Bill 22, the Education Improvement Act that suspends the teacher's strike action, sets a "cooling off" period and appoints a mediator to facilitate bargaining.

"We hope the teachers' union will take a constructive approach and respect the cooling off period.

"However, if they choose a different path, the legislation includes stiff financial consequences for illegal strike action," Abbott said in a press release.

The act provides for huge fines for each day of strike action, $1.3 million for the union and up to $475 for teachers.

If the BCTF and the B.C. Public School Employers' Association fail to reach an agreement by the beginning of summer, the mediator would issue a report by June 30 with non-binding recommendations.

Moffatt dismissed the government's plans to appoint a mediator.

"The mediation process built into that legislation is a sham," she said. "It's not a fair process."

mbabic@thenownewspaper.com

twitter@marisababic