TORONTO - Thousands of teachers pushed back against the Dalton McGuinty government's plan to legislate wage freezes and reductions in sick benefits.

At a large rally on the front lawn of Queen's Park Tuesday, up to 6,000 protesters chanted "liar, liar" as speakers blasted McGuinty and the Putting Students First Act.

Sam Hammond, the president of the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario (ETFO), warned the demonstration was just the beginning of the war and he vowed, to loud cheers from the crowd, that they would never forget the "betrayal."

CUPE Ontario president Fred Hahn said the bill takes away the constitutional rights of hundreds of thousands of workers in the province by imposing non-negotiated changes to working conditions.

"We will not be bullied, Mr. Premier," Hahn said.

Education Minister Laurel Broten introduced legislation Monday which freezes salaries for two years.

It would stop teachers from collecting unused sick days in the future. Collective agreements have allowed teachers to cash out unused sick days when they retire.

The government was only able to negotiate these changes with the province's English Catholic school teachers.

"It has been an issue that has concerned me, that the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario walked away from the table after less than one hour," Broten said. "I repeatedly asked them to come back. They did not come back."

The previous teacher contracts automatically roll over, preserving the sick day retirement gratuity and boosting pay, if there is no new collective agreement or legislation.

Ontario Finance Minister Dwight Duncan said freezing public sector pay is crucial to the government's plan to eliminate the deficit which is currently tracking at $15.3 billion.

"This move gets us $2 billion over the next three years in addition to a one-time $1.4 billion on the sick days," Duncan said. "We have said right from the beginning, not just with teachers but with all employees in the public and broader public sectors, that of every dollar we spend 55 cents is in wages and benefits. There's no way you can get back to balance without dealing with this."

The protesters accused the government of targeting the teachers in a political ploy to win two upcoming byelections, particularly in Kitchener-Waterloo.

NDP House Leader Gilles Bisson said the government is creating a false sense of urgency to stampede the bill through the legislature to impress the electorate.

Bisson noted the bill is retroactive.