More than half of the State's 43 National Car Test centres were closed yesterday as SIPTU-represented workers went on a one-day strike over the use of surveillance cameras on staff.
A spokeswoman for NCT Service (NCTS) said 24 test centres were out of operation yesterday, leading to the cancellation of 1,420 tests.
The company criticised SIPTU for calling the strike, accusing it of bypassing agreed industrial relations procedures.
But Mr Frank Jones, trade group official with AGEMO, the mechanics' and drivers' division of SIPTU, said it had been unable to refer the matter to the Labour Relations Commission because "we feel we cannot compromise".
The dispute centres on the use of surveillance cameras and private investigators in disciplinary actions against staff members, some of which have led to dismissals. The issue came to a head last March when Mr Vincent Cooney, an NCTS employee in Naas and a branch member of AGEMO, was dismissed in controversial circumstances.
A rights commissioner subsequently deemed the dismissal unfair, and awarded Mr Cooney €20,000 in compensation.
Mr Jones said union members were being deliberately targeted by the surveillance measures, claiming 10 union activists had been wrongfully dismissed since 2000. "There is no doubt in the union's mind that the reason Vincent Cooney was dismissed was because of his activity in the union. It was a blatant exercise in union-bashing," he added.
However, the NCTS spokeswoman denied the claims, and said it was "shocked" the one-day strike had gone ahead when both parties had provisionally agreed to the limited use of surveillance cameras last April. "The crux of our business is the fairness of the test, and if there is a case where integrity can be harmed we have to protect it."
She added that, while the company would be "more than happy" to engage in further talks, "we are confused as to why they are striking. The strike notice was over the use of concealed cameras but now they are saying it is over dismissals."
AGEMO's strike committee wrote yesterday to the Department of Transport asking it to intervene in the dispute. Further one-day strikes are threatened, although none is due to take place for at least a fortnight. Of the 1,420 tests cancelled yesterday, 823 had been rebooked by yesterday evening, according to NCTS, which is owned by the Swiss-based multinational SGS Group. Test centres in Dublin were unaffected by the strike as they are largely non-unionised.
AGEMO claims to have 255 members among the staff of 500-plus.
Meanwhile, plans are afoot to create a nationwide pressure group to lobby for changes to the NCT amid complaints from some motorists about the cost of the test, and the minor nature of certain faults which have caused cars to fail. A committee seeking changes to the test has already been established in Limerick, and now plans are being made to set up similar committees in Clare, Tipperary, Kerry and Cork.
Among the speakers at a meeting in Nenagh next Monday, aimed at setting up a local committee, will be the chairman of the Co Limerick group, Mr Pat O' Donovan, an auctioneer and insurance broker based in Newcastlewest. "I am just sick and tired of the Mickey Mouse things that people are being failed on and the time that people have to spend getting their cars through the test," he said.