Premier Dalton McGuinty yesterday warned striking college teachers and their employers to resolve their dispute because the Ontario government will not step in to do it for them.

Speaking to reporters in Ottawa, Mr. McGuinty quashed any hopes some might have entertained that the province would intervene quickly and legislate the strikers back to work.

"I am saying to both sides 'don't count on our government to intervene in this matter.' They are big boys and big girls. Their responsibility now is to act responsibly and find a resolution," the premier said.

"It will be irresponsible for the parties involved to say 'we are just going to sit back, sit on our hands, allow students to remain outside their classes and wait for somebody to rescue us from ourselves.'"

More than 150,000 college students at Ontario's 24 community colleges were forced out of the classroom this week after 9,000 teachers walked off the job in a dispute with their employers.

The teachers, who are members of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union, are seeking limits to teaching workloads, which have grown in the past 15 years as funding has dropped and enrolment soared. With no talks scheduled and students worried about losing the school year, the College Students Association of Ontario is considering a class action suit on behalf of its members.

But Mr. McGuinty refused to be drawn into the dispute, reiterating that the people who got themselves into the jam should work themselves out of it.

"They got themselves into this ...Their responsibility is to work as hard as they can together, never losing sight of the higher interest here, which is the students. Their greater interest is owed to the students who have a right to attend their classes," he said.

The last college teachers' strike in 1989 lasted four weeks but the premier refused to speculate on what would happen if the strike goes on for a month. He said a body called the College Relations Commission has the responsibility to advise the government on when might be appropriate to step in. But it would be foolish to just hang on and threaten students' education in the hope that this will happen.

Mr. McGuinty said the parties should get back to the table and stay "for as long as it takes" to resolve the dispute.

"I place full responsibility on them to resolve this matter at the earliest possible opportunity," he said.