So driving examiners made the news, well at least another media hit on a Facebook share. Only 700 tests cancelled in Northampton, I expected it to be far more. To be honest I don't see a rally of support from any quarters, and in days gone by and definitely if I was in charge I'd sack them all and start again. Harsh? Hardly, we all have a job to do, it pays the bills and for some it pays the bills of the owner of the company. Driving tests are a public service and as such it is only fair to expect that service to go ahead without foot stamping of the employees. As a business owner, and driving instructors are just that, a turnover of income is required to make a living. Keep cancelling tests and instructors lose business and money. It also messes up the diaries and ruins the enthusiasm of the student. So surely there can be no sympathy from the very people that need this service.
Well surprisingly there is some.
Is the sympathy from the instructor community who befriend the examiner for favour, or is it in a misguided belief that if they show anything other than support their students will be treated unfairly. So should the examiner have the support of the tutor, the tax payer, the government, the union, the media, the student?
Starting with the union as that's the easy one. Of course. Pay your fee and have your voice heard, over the last few years unions have crept in the back door and although they do not have the clout of previous years they do have some power. I'm not anti union, I totally support having a voice particularly for the minorities, but I don't support mob rule. Not every examiner belongs to a union so now we have a disturbed working practice. Those who belong strike, or follow the mood of the moment and work to rule. I mean seriously? I pay tax, in bucket loads, and for that I expect something in return. I require my bins to be emptied, my streets to be swept and my driving examiners to turn up for work. Otherwise the money saved for non-paid strike days goes into paying for something else, possibly something I don't actually want, like a new bronze statue in a town centre, or similar. So work to rule equals payment but not service, hmm, nice one - not.
The tax payer, well I have covered that a little, but tax is always a sore subject, we would willingly all have a rise if the NHS and education system were organised properly and run well, would we willingly pay more for a driving test examiner, probably not. Some of that is because many tax payers do not appreciate the importance of good driver training, because driving is often seen as a right. So theoretically they cannot expect any support here.
The Government, well lets hope they would not be supportive of strike action or work to rule, we pay these people to run the country and if something is not working change it. Privatisation has to be the way forward, it's come up so many times it makes me dizzy, yet heel dragging by the back office is a joke. Tenders from other parts of Europe take some negotiating but it could be the step of support for a revised test.
The media. I have some experience here. To sell newspapers it must be good or at least interesting, this is not new news so it is serious straw clutching to revive this old story, and statistics may be cool to the researcher but they are boring as hell for some, trust me, as researcher in a previous life, I've seen plenty of glazed eyes during my number quoting. So how can the media be rallied as an ally, personally I think that's an uphill battle.
The student. They spend a wheelbarrow of money preparing themselves to hit the road, alone, so scary stuff, and manage to negotiate this shared space with inexperience, crossed fingers and in some cases closed eyes. The build up is fretful for some, not so much for others, but test day is a moment that most people can recall regardless of how long ago it was. So to stand outside the test centre excited, scared, stressed, clutching a provisional licence in anticipation of it being upgraded to a full one to be told, sorry your examiner doesn't like his 8 - 4 Monday to Friday job, carrying out 7/8 tests a day, so your test is cancelled. You only have to wait another 12 weeks until you can take it now. So you will need some more lessons, more test preparation, you have to pay for today anyway as this is how your instructor makes a living and this is not their fault, you can claim your expenses of course, it will only take eight weeks for a cheque, yes cheque, you can't pay for your test with one but you do have to receive one for your trouble. Just don't forget to cash it. Sympathetic? I think anyone can answer that.
The tutor. Now we are on tricky ground. Many examiners were tutors too and there is a belief, I have no idea how true, that a driving instructor would become an examiner if their business was unsuccessful, and to be fair in that case I understand the work to rule. To exchange being self employed for a regular job in an industry that is familiar, it must be very difficult to adjust to the demands of the government, to do more work than they anticipated when signing on the dotted line. Shame really. The tutor is torn here. They feel an obligation to support the examiner during these trying times, they also have serious ear ache from their students, who is after all a priority far greater as they pay their wages, about why they have an email on the day of the test saying due to unforeseen circumstances (unforeseen is stretching the truth, they are on work to rule) their test has been rescheduled for the week the ADI is on holiday, but it's okay you can rearrange this but it will mean a longer wait. The ADI is then left hanging for the money that the student will claim back, find a last minute cancellation and spend the claim on their phone bill ringing around to find someone else to take them, as surely it must be the instructors fault they were let down in the first place. I struggle to see this being a win win ever for the instructor as they are in direct firing line, and for every student that smiles and says it's okay it's not your fault, their will be two who secretly think it is.
91% voted in favour of strike action. That is pretty good, they must be really hacked off. They earn the same as an EO in the civil service, so not bottom of the barrel, and from my days of civil service experience, which was CA then CO, to get to EO was hard work, so not a bad pay rate to go in at. You need to be patient and tolerant, sit in a car all day, have a clear disclosure and barring, be a safe driver, have no academic qualifications, be able to write a report and see seven clients a day for an average of 40 minutes at a time. Wow sounds horrific.
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