Almost 200 Driving Instructors Protest In Bucharest Over Low Pay

Protesters are displaying banners reading „Licensed Driving Instructor – authorized private individual – mere driving school servitors”, „Don’t send us away, we’ve got families”, „Notary public = liberal profession, lawyer = liberal profession, licensed driving instructor = slave”.

Representatives of the National Union of Driving Instructors in Romania (SNIAR) on Tuesday said over 3,000 unionists will join the protest rally in Constitutiei Square, starting 10 a.m..

Unionists are disgruntled about the situation of driving instructors, authorized by the Romanian Road Authority. They say driving instructors are dependent on and subordinated to driving schools, as driving training fees are cashed by driving schools, which subsequently pay instructors based on a service provision contract. Protesters say driving training fees imposed on future drivers brought in and trained by licensed instructors is taxed twice, plus an unjustified collection of value added tax by the driving school.

Protesters are also displeased that authorized private individuals are obliged, on concluding health insurance contracts, to pay social health insurance contributions for the past five years.

Unionists also ask authorities to intervene and set a minimum reference price or professional fee for driving training classes. They also want the interministerial council for road safety to draft and promote provisions based on criteria of competence and performance as regards driving training.