An email alert from the DSA:
The DSA is urging all driving test candidates booked to take a test on the morning of Thursday 30 August to attend as usual, despite the potential for strike action by driving examiners who are members of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union.
The DSA’s chief executive Rosemary Thew said:
“Not all examiners are members of the PCS union and even if they are, we can’t be sure that they’ll support the strike. So we’re asking candidates to come for their test as normal so it can go ahead if possible.
“We’re sorry for the inconvenience this will cause and will do everything we can to minimise disruption for our customers.”
Candidates who turn up but can’t take their tests because of strike action will not have to contact the DSA to rebook. They should hear from the agency with a new date within 5 to 10 working days.
Out-of-pocket expenses
If candidates fail to attend they won’t be able to claim out-of-pocket expenses if their tests are cancelled and they’ll need to rebook their own tests.
Details about claiming out-of-pocket expenses can be found at direct.gov.uk/drivingtestexpenses.
Theory tests
Theory tests are not affected and will be taking place as planned.
Rosemary Thew has said what I usually do about not all examiners getting involved. I would add that from what I can gather (i.e. previous strikes), the further north you travel the more likely they are to be burning effigies, chanting, and waving banners.
Keep your fingers crossed and turn up.
EDIT 25/8/2012: This came through in the feeds. The comment about how many test would be cancelled if ALL union members took action is interesting – and misleading.
When I first read it I thought “100 tests across England and Wales is nothing”. But then I realised that they are just talking about their local area (journalists who don’t understand the significance of the internet and who make stupid ambiguous comments like that should learn from their mistakes). The actual number nationwide would be quite significant – that “100” is across six test centres, and there are 300-400 test centres around the country.
That would equate to somewhere in the region of 5,000 tests on a pro rata basis, though obviously some centres have fewer examiners than the West Midlands ones, and as I said above not all examiners get involved.