Public high school teachers in Simcoe County are taking strike votes Wednesday and Thursday to back their contract talks with the board.

While a bill that passed at Queen's Park last week would ban strikes and lockouts and freezes the wages of teachers -- the union is going ahead with a vote anyway.

The head of the union says the vote will be to force the Education Minister to ban any strike.

Ian Tudor -- the President of OSSTF 17 -- acknowledges that teachers have done well in recent contracts.

Tudor says though, teachers and education workers didn't create the economic crisis that has hurt Ontario's economy, and teachers shouldn't be the ones to fix the deficit problem.

Tudor says he expects the teachers will give the union a strike mandate.

He says there are no new talks planned between the union and the Simcoe County District School Board.