Fórsa has contacted management at the Road Safety Authority seeking a reversion to the requirement that cars presented by a customer for a driving test require a valid NCT certificate.

The union has also sought the withdrawal of disciplinary letters issued to driver testers for not conducting a test due to a customer’s car not having a valid NCT.

The requirement was temporarily suspended due to delays caused by Covid, however, the RSA has continued to instruct driver testers to waive this requirement if a car presented for a test does not have a valid NCT certificate.

Since November last year Fórsa has instructed driver tester members to adhere to the RSA protocol that all vehicles presented for a driving test must display a valid NCT disk. The union has advised the RSA that this is a serious health and safety concern for Fórsa and its driver tester members.

Last week, management issued disciplinary letters to a number of Fórsa members stating that the member had “refused to obey a reasonable instruction from management.”

In a letter to RSA management Fórsa official Derek Kelleher said: “Fórsa dispute this, and are of the view that disciplinary action is unwarranted. We request that the disciplinary letters are withdrawn.

“Furthermore, we request that the RSA confirm that they will revert to the pre-Covid protocol that all cars presented by a customer for a driving test require a valid NCT and issue a communication to all driver testers notifying them of same,” he said.

Derek said the union remains available to meet to discuss the matter with RSA management if required.

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