DVSA has advised candidates to turn up for tests as normal when industrial action involving fossils who are members of the PCS Union takes place on 19 and 20 November.
Remember that not all examiners are stupid enough to be in the union in the first place, and of those who are, they’re not all that stupid that they’ll be involved in the action. Remember that the further north you are, the more likely you are to be affected (sorry, but based on previous strike action, this is true).
To claim out of pocket expenses, you MUST turn up.
Amusingly, I noticed someone defending the examiners recently. They said that a strike is necessary when negotiations on pay rises come to a stalemate, and when one party is behaving pig-headedly and saying “that’s all you’re getting”. They say that negotiation is about give and take.
Interesting – and either very naive or blindly utopian. Tell you what, next time you’re on a lesson and a pupil tries to negotiate a lower price, instead of telling them that your rate is £23 and that’s it, let them name a price instead. I’m sure you’ll both live happily every after for a long time afterwards.
In actual fact, reasons for the strike this time around are somewhat confusing. Pay is certainly one issue that keeps being mentioned, and this has definitely been the core reason for numerous strikes over the last few years. However, other reports suggest that it is also due to protests over the proposed changes to the driving test, and an increase in the number each examiner has to conduct. This article makes it clear what the main issue is this time around. It is the plans to increase the number of tests they have to conduct which is the reason for the strike. There’s no mention of changes to the test – and this is coming from a source which would support the strikers no matter what.
Going on strike remains an antiquated left wing activity, which has no place in the 21st century unless you live more than 53°N (or in London) – then, it becomes a way of life. The examiners have a valid point on this occasion, but striking is not the way to resolve it. Indeed, they have cried wolf by striking over so many things in the last three years (which is why some news sources are saying it is about pay) that when something like this comes along few people can see the distinction. A “work to rule” would be have been far more effective because it wouldn’t have hurt test candidates.