Fórsa has contacted the Minister for the Environment, Climate, Communications and Transport  Eamon Ryan, on behalf of the union’s driver tester members employed by the Road Safety Authority (RSA) to alert him to precarious employment practises at the RSA.

The union told the minister in a letter issued yesterday (Thursday) that the RSA continues to hire driver testers on insecure, temporary, contracts despite lengthy waiting lists – of up to one year – for driving test applicants to take their test.

Fórsa has been engaging with RSA management to try and resolve the issue, although the RSA is limited in what it can do because any resolution requires sanction from the Department of Transport.

The correspondence to the minister included a petition, signed by 150 driver testers - a significant majority of the staff - calling for the department to sanction 40 permanent driver tester positions.

Fórsa official Ruairí Creaney said: “It is not acceptable for dozens of public service workers to be employed on temporary contracts when it is clear that there is a strong case for permanent jobs in the RSA.

“Waiting times for driving tests are at an all-time high, so it makes no sense for people to be employed on insecure and precarious contracts.

“This would facilitate a reduction in waiting times and may result in keeping waiting times below 10 weeks, as stated in the RSA’s Service Level Agreement. It would also help resolve the precarious employment issue for members.”

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