Driving examiners announce protest

SPANISH driving examiners, who have been holding daily partial strikes since September 14, have announced a protest for October 21.

So far this year, CSIF trade union reported, there have been 15 physical attacks on examiners in Spain, and verbal attacks are suffered on a daily basis.

Examiners believe this is due to the fact that they have to tell learners on the spot whether they have passed or not and this often happens in quiet areas where they are unable to call for help when threatened or attacked.

If the results were given later on, CSIF complained, attacks would probably not happen, yet so far no agreements have been reached in negotiations and their safety is the one thing the examiners are not prepared to let go.

Other matters the examiners are striking over include a lack of sufficient staff and low pay.

“We don’t even have time to go to the toilet. On its adverts the DGT advises drivers to take a break every two hours but that doesn’t seem to count for us,” CSIF representative Manuel de Santiago complained.

To improve conditions and quality of the service, De Santiago said, there would need to be between 10 and 15 per cent more examiners.