A union for driving instructors

I often see signs of ADI's being rather critical of each other on social media, internal fighting and creating a divide.  When we care about what we do, we like to show our passion, myself included.  Because we are all self-employed, we tend to be rather protective or guarded naturally.  I generally find that chats in the test centres (a thing of the past?) are quite friendly and pleasant, which shows me what a decent group of people us ADI's are.  

But we are in unprecedented times, and tempers are understandably beginning to explode.  I don't blame ADI's for that, I blame this government (but that's another subject).  

In my experience, I find "trainers" to be the most problematic.  These are a group of unregulated individuals, with no tests to pass, accountable to no-one but who can be extremely vocal about how crap they believe ADI's are.   You know, those ADI's who have to pass three tests to qualify and then undertake regular standards checks.  The hypocrisy is quite something.  There is a voluntary scheme called ORDIT, but it in no way guarantees integrity.

Non-ORDIT trainers are entirely unmonitored.  They do not get vetted, they don't have to qualify to do the job, and yet they often hold this moral high-ground, patronising ADI's about how they are not asking the right kind of questions on standards checks.  Even ORDIT trainers do not have to account for their performance; they like to dish out the idea of accountability to ADI's, but they demonstrate very little of their own.

I have long felt that we do need our own union.  I've been a member of all the main driving instructor associations and what they severely lack is being in touch with the 'average' instructor.  What I believe is desperately needed is a body that truly understands the challenges that instructors go through on a daily basis. 

 

Those challenges include what I call a 'minefield' of risks:  late cancellations, coronavirus, national franchises, unregulated trainers, inadequate instructor assessments, injury/illness that incapacitates, driving school insurance premiums, driverless cars, occupational health risks, difficult pupils, lack of earnings due to unforeseen circumstances, late payments, social media slander, keeping up to date with legislation, standards check grades.  It is a minefield because any one of them can completely obliterate your business, your mental/physical health or at best, do it serious harm.  I see precisely the same need to help protect PDI's too - their trodden path is no less dangerous!

I would be happy to instigate such a union and if you would like to get some of these protections or others, let me know!  Text "yes" to 07498364211 and I'll get back to you.