Driving Testers on Strike

galwayredgirl

http://www.rte.ie/news/2014/0402/606146-driving-tests/

I wonder how you become a driving tester - I've never seen the posts advertised. Sounds fairly cushy being driven around all day.

Yo Mamma

Wont somebody please think of the children !!

Alf. A. Male

galwayredgirl wrote: »

Sounds fairly cushy being driven around all day.

Given some of the absolute loons who pass the test, some of the ones who fail must knock years of the testers lives.

donegal11

They don't want anyone getting anyone else on the gravy train

seamus

They'd be advertised on publicjobs.ie, so unless you're watching that site you won't see it.

I'd say the turnover is very low though. It's not really a job you get and then think, "Nah, this isn't for me". You know what it is when you apply for it. Pretty cushy too, fixed work hours, fixed work, very little stress, very little paperwork, basically can't be fired.

If you have another passion in life, it's exactly the kind of job that would be great for a fixed income while you pursue your hobbies.

kneemos

You have to pass a six month course in grumpiness.
Followed by a three weeks of learning how to look sideways without turning your head.

galwayredgirl

I wonder if you were not happy with the outcome of your driving test if you could appeal? Not relevant to me but just wondering if there is such a thing as an appeals mechanism?

Alf. A. Male

galwayredgirl wrote: »

I wonder if you were not happy with the outcome of your driving test if you could appeal? Not relevant to me but just wondering if there is such a thing as an appeals mechanism?

This is how you make your point if you're not happy with the outcome http://www.joe.ie/news/current-affairs/car-smashes-into-the-front-door-of-trinity-college-in-dublin/

seamus

galwayredgirl wrote: »

I wonder if you were not happy with the outcome of your driving test if you could appeal? Not relevant to me but just wondering if there is such a thing as an appeals mechanism?

Yes there is, but you can't overturn the tester's decision (which makes sense tbh), all you can do is get a free test out of it.

I wonder what the rules are on doing your test with a dash/internal cam. It seems like a great idea that every test should be recorded, both for testers auditing and for drivers to review their own test. But it sounds like the kind of things union bosses would love to get all hot and bothered about.
You could have a purpose built camera that the tester brings, with a little "clicker" that he can use to press 1, 2 or 3 every time he sees a fault. Then when the footage is reviewed, you can see exactly when and why you were being marked down.

galwayredgirl

seamus wrote: »

you can't overturn the tester's decision (which makes sense tbh), all you can do is get a free test out of it.

Wow!:eek:

This job just gets better and better.

Cushy number and you can never be wrong!

AnonoBoy

galwayredgirl wrote: »

Sounds fairly cushy being driven around all day.

Yeah. I used to be a driving instructor. Last test of the day always finished at my house for some reason.

anncoates

I'm losing count of all these cushy pubic jobs that we're supposed to be outraged about. Can we sticky them in a downloadable text file?

Tiddlypeeps

What are they actually hoping to achieve?

galwayredgirl

Tiddlypeeps wrote: »

What are they actually hoping to achieve?

"This dispute centres on a decision by the Road Safety Authority to recruit six reserve testers to address short-notice cancellations.

The RSA said that in 2012 almost 12,000 tests were disrupted by sick leave among driver testers."

Tiddlypeeps

galwayredgirl wrote: »

"This dispute centres on a decision by the Road Safety Authority to recruit six reserve testers to address short-notice cancellations.

The RSA said that in 2012 almost 12,000 tests were disrupted by sick leave among driver testers."

I read that but I can't make sense of it. Why is this actually an issue? Nobody is losing their job, nobody is taking a pay cut and working conditions don't appear to be in anyway effected by this change. Why the outrage?

I'm probably missing something very obvious.

The One Doctor

Tiddlypeeps wrote: »

I read that but I can't make sense of it. Why is this actually an issue? Nobody is losing their job, nobody is taking a pay cut and working conditions don't appear to be in anyway effected by this change. Why the outrage?

I'm probably missing something very obvious.

Because it will ruin the tester's monopoly and really annoy the unions.

Tiddlypeeps

The One Doctor wrote: »

Because it will ruin the tester's monopoly and really annoy the unions.

I still don't get it. How do the testers have a monopoly, there are many testers, isn't this just adding more but on a part time basis, all hired by the same company?

dodzy

anncoates wrote: »

I'm losing count of all these cushy pubic jobs that we're supposed to be outraged about. Can we sticky them in a downloadable text file?

Lovin the typo;)

Cuddlesworth

They were replaced pretty quickly before when the backlog was cleared. Knowing that, I'd have figured they would keep their heads down.

Frynge

I might be wrong but my calculations have it at 3157 sick days in the organisation for the year 2012. Or 31 and a half days per tester.

so out of 260 work days in a year the testers only work ~197.5 days in what I would consider to be a relativly cushy job

elefant

galwayredgirl wrote: »

Wow!:eek:

This job just gets better and better.

Cushy number and you can never be wrong!

That's it. I'm going to be either a Driving Tester or a Pope when I grow up.

anncoates

dodzy wrote: »

Lovin the typo;)

Needs a get the sack joke to follow....

jackofalltrades

They should have privatised the Driving test service back in 2009 when they had the chance.

12,000 test cancelled due to sickness.
At 7 tests per day that works out as 1714 sick days per year.
That's 17 sick days per year, per tester. :eek:.