Several dozen truck driving instructors and their students circled the Ontario legislature Tuesday calling on the province to intervene to put an end to a labour dispute at DriveTest, the company that operates Ontario's driver examination centres.

Gus Rahim of Ontario's Truck Training Schools Association says an 11-week strike by DriveTest employees means driving school instructors are losing work because their current students can't take the road test needed to get licensed and new students aren't enrolling.

Opposition parties are asking the government to step in to force an end to the strike, but the government says it must let the collective bargaining process take its course.

Premier Dalton McGuinty says the government is encouraging both sides in the dispute to come to an agreement but won't get involved in the negotiations.

Rahim says that if the government doesn't want to interfere, it should at least let the schools do their own testing.

DriveTest workers walked out on Aug. 21 over the key issue of job security after talks broke off with their employer, Serco DES Inc.