Final Word from Tuesday, October 13, 2015
Professional drivers are in short supply in the CR, partly due to higher wages in Germany, and some people in the transportation sector see the refugee crisis as a gift from Allah. Instead of having to raise wages to lure Czech drivers home, they could just hire some cheap Syrians to climb behind the wheel of their tractor-trailers. Whoa, not so quick. Even if the Senate gives its approval to a law for allowing refugees to start working six months after arriving here, instead of the current year, there's still the question of a valid driver's license. Unlike EU migrants, who can drive in their newly adopted EU land on their original license, Syrians must pass a Czech driving test. This means taking 28 lessons of 45 minutes each, paying an interpreter, and passing written and practical tests in a foreign language. To avoid this, the CR would have to grant Syria an exemption to the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic, as it has with Japan and South Korea. In the meantime, Syrian drivers are in the same third-class category as Americans, Australians and Canadians. [Czech Republic 1968 European Union cab migration crisis]
Glossary of difficult words
to lure - to tempt (a person or animal) to do something or to go somewhere;
tractor-trailer - a vehicle consisting of a tractor or cab with an engine and a separate, attached trailer in which goods can be transported;
whoa - used as a greeting, to express surprise or interest, or to command attention; used as a command to a horse to make it stop or slow down.