Fórsa has told the Oireachtas Transport Committee this week (Wednesday 24th April) that 40 additional permanent driver tester roles are needed at the Road Safety Authority (RSA), and the union said the Department of Transport must sanction the appointments as a matter of urgency. 

Fórsa official Ruairí Creaney told the committee about the experience of precarious working conditions for some driver testers at the RSA, and the manner in which this is impacting the service and adding to the waiting lists for driving tests, currently up to 24 weeks.

Ruairí told the committee: “It is currently the case that a significant number of the RSA’s driver testers are employed on insecure temporary contracts lasting from 18 months to two years. Temporary contracts were initially introduced as an interim measure to tackle record waiting times for driving tests. However, several years on, temporary contracts are still being used and there is no indication of the RSA’s intentions to provide all its staff with secure and permanent contracts. 

“There are currently 130 permanent driver testers employed by the RSA. This is despite the RSA’s Service Level Agreement with the Department of Transport, that requires waiting times for driving tests to be no longer than 10 weeks,” he said.

Ruairí told Oireachtas members that the recent advice to the committee, from RSA CEO Sam Waide, that 170 permanent driver testers were required to meet demand in the service, “illustrates that the continuing use of temporary contracts is completely unsustainable.”

He added that RSA management has allowed a total of 30 temporary contracts to expire on two occasions in recent years, despite record waiting times for driving tests. In February and March this year, seven driver testers were let go. 

Ruairí added: “Incredibly, after these testers lost their jobs, management issued a communication offering bonuses to driver testers willing to work overtime to bring the waiting lists down. Fórsa driver tester members have refused to engage in this scheme because it is a poorly designed solution to cover gaps in the service caused by a management decision.”

He said Fórsa is currently engaged in a process at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) in relation to some of the laid off driver testers. 

Ruairí said the issue of permanent and secure work is an important issue for Fórsa members. In October last year, 90% of the RSA’s driver testers signed a union petition calling for an additional 40 permanent roles in the driver testing service: “The petition was sent to RSA management and Ministers Eamon Ryan and Jack Chambers. The high response rate for the survey shows the depth of feeling on this issue. 

“The union is resolved that the RSA should be employing staff on secure and permanent contracts in crucial public-facing roles such as driver testing. We are calling for 40 additional permanent roles, and we want the Department of Transport to sanction this as a matter of urgency. 

“Fórsa driver testers in the RSA want an agency that is fit for purpose. They are just as frustrated about waiting times as members of the public. They want to deliver a world class public service, but the current employment conditions prevent them from doing so,” he said.

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