DriveTest workers have walked off the job, with their union saying negotiations with their employer Serco DES Inc. are going nowhere.
The United Steelworkers accused the company of dragging its feet on negotiating a new deal.
"These are people who are just pissed off. They're angry. They're frustrated," union director Wayne Fraser told reporters during a break in negotiations.
Their employeer is "simply not willing to make an offer to meet the needs of the members," Jim Young, president of Local 9511, charged.
"That is why our members will be going on strike immediately,"
Local 9511, which represents more than 550 driving examiners across Ontario, originally had a strike deadline of Thursday at 2 a.m.
That got pushed back 24 hours.
Examiners showed up for work on Friday morning at the 55 permanent DriveTest centres, but began walking off the job by Friday afternoon.
The centres are the only place where new motorists can take the road test that would allow them to earn a driver's licence. Motorists aged 80 and older also get their licences renewed by the company. About 3,000 aspiring drivers are waiting to take the test.
Those Ontarians who simply need their licence renewed without a road test can still do so at provincial licence issuing offices.
Serco DES took over driver testing in 2003, signing a 10-year contract with the province.
Contract negotiations had been going on since mid-February. The union sees job security as a major issues, claiming the company cuts workers' hours back to part-time in the fall and winter. Some are laid off and replaced by supervisors.
With files from The Canadian Press
