RSA to outsource up to 70,000 more tests

THE ROAD Safety Authority (RSA) is to outsource up to 70,000 driving tests this year, but has been told by the Labour Relations Commission (LRC) that it cannot use private firms to carry out driving tests in the future.

The LRC decision is part of an arbitration ruling to resolve a dispute between the RSA and unions representing State-employed driver testers and administration staff who are opposed to outsourcing.

Unions opposed the use of SGS Ireland to conduct driving tests this year because they say they were given assurances that outsourcing would only be used to deal with a massive backlog of motorists waiting for a test.

This backlog of 400,000 drivers was dealt with over a two-year period and, by June 2008, average waiting times had fallen from 12 months to 10 weeks.

However, the RSA is not yet in a position to meet demand from within its own resources. The LRC ruling says the authority will require additional capacity to ensure waiting times remain under 10 weeks. The LRC said outsourcing under these terms complies with the social partnership pact, Towards 2016.

Unions are surprised at the RSA’s continuing reliance on private testers.

Theresa Dwyer, a Civil Public and Services Union (CPSU) official representing 40 administration staff at the RSA’s headquarters in Ballina, Co Mayo, said unions were assured last June that outsourcing would no longer be required.

“At a meeting with the RSA last June, they assured us they would be able to handle all tests internally unless there was an unprecedented and sustained surge in demand,” she said.

The LRC ruling commits the RSA to providing around 35,000 overtime tests for RSA staff this year and said the overtime rate for such tests should increase to €39.

A spokesman for the RSA explained the requirement for private tests by saying it was needed to “deal with fluctuations in demand and we now have that flexibility in place”.

At the start of February there were 53,000 people waiting for a test and 10 of the State’s 48 test centres had waiting times of more than 10 weeks, including Tullamore, Co Offaly, Waterford, Wexford and Cork.