Updated: Mon Nov. 30 2009 3:16:50 PM

ctvtoronto.ca

As driving instructors protesting the ongoing DriveTest strike circled outside Queen's Park, opposition politicians inside demanded the provincial government do something to help resolve the dispute.

"It's been almost four months since this strike started," said Progressive Conservative MPP Jim Wilson in the legislature on Monday.

"One hundred and sixty-eight thousand Ontarians are in the backlog to get their drivers' licences. And that number grows by 4,000 people a day. Small businesses are going bankrupt. People are losing their jobs. New immigrants can't get a licence which is a requirement of their visa to get a job," he said.

However, Labour Minister Peter Fonseca said the most productive way to settle the strike would be a negotiated settlement achieved with the help of government mediators.

Wilson and fellow Tory Frank Klees had tabled a private member's bill calling for a legislated end to the strike, which began Aug. 21.  However, the Liberal government's members rejected the bill.

About 200 protesters attacked the government's inaction.

Earlier this month, 78 per cent of the strikers, who are members of United Steelworkers Local 9511, voted to reject a contract offer from Serco Inc.

That company won a 10-deal with the province to take over the provision of driver testing services.

The main issue in the dispute is job security. The union, which represents more than 550 DriveTest employees, claims the company cuts back workers' hours in the fall and winter. Some are laid off and replaced by supervisors.

The strike began Aug. 21 and affects a total of 93 sites where people go to get examined for their driver's licence. People over the age of 80 also get tested there. People who simply need to renew their licence without taking a test can do so at Ontario Driver and Vehicle Licence Issuing Offices.

With files from The Canadian Press