Cullen’s driving test plan left in tatters
An independent adjudication body found Transport Minister Martin Cullen's proposal to outsource tests to private firms would breach the terms of the Sustaining Progress social partnership agreement.
As the ruling of the Civil Service Arbitration Board (CSAB) is binding, it means Mr Cullen cannot proceed with the plan. Instead, his department will have to find other ways of reducing the massive backlog.
Some motorists face delays of up to a year or more before being called for tests.
Mr Cullen's plan was referred to the CSAB because of objections from trade unions representing the department's 130 driving testers, each of whom carries out approximately 1,500 tests a year.
The first element of the plan, which proposed bonus payments for testers who increased their productivity rates, met with little resistance. Staff would have qualified for payments of €36 to €50 for every extra test they carried out.
But the unions objected to Mr Cullen's proposal to outsource 40,000 tests to private contractors to further reduce the backlog.
The minister had insisted any outsourcing would be temporary, and cease the moment the backlog was reduced to acceptable levels.
But the unions IMPACT, the Civil and Public Service Union, and the Federation Union of Government Employees claimed the outsourcing of "core work" such as this would represent a breach of Sustaining Progress.
Yesterday, the CSAB agreed with that argument, citing section 21.9 of the agreement, which says only non-core work can be outsourced.
The CSAB urged the department and unions to resume discussions with a view to agreeing "a proper and expeditious solution" to the backlog.
Mr Cullen said he was "very disappointed" at the CSAB's decision, and said it was a setback to reducing the numbers of people killed on the roads.
"I believe the speediest possible elimination of the backlog is imperative in the interests of road safety. To quote directly from (the) arbitration ruling, continuance of the backlog 'represents a potential threat to road safety'," he said.
"The Government has no intention of giving up on this. We must and will find a solution. It is too important, both from a road safety perspective and from the perspective of the efficient provision of a key public service, not to do so."
But IMPACT last night said the simplest way to address the problem was for the Department of Finance to sanction the recruitment of more testers. Surplus civil servants could also be redeployed to the driving test service, the union added.
