Hundreds of DVLA workers go on strike over Covid safety fears

Hundreds of workers at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency have launched fresh industrial action in a long-running dispute over Covid-related safety.

Members of the Public and Commercial Services union at the DVLA site in Swansea have gone on strike from today until Saturday, prompting fears over delays for drivers.

The union warned it was entering a new phase of ‘sustained and targeted’ industrial unrest for months to come.

The latest strike is the third time staff have walked out over demands for additional safety measures.

The union said over 600 Covid cases were recorded during the outbreak last year, including one staff member who later died after contracting the virus.

The DVLA insists it has done everything possible to keep workers safe and has followed official guidelines.

PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said a deal was all but agreed to end the dispute, claiming it was suddenly withdrawn at the 11th hour without any explanation.

Dispute: The DVLA insists it has done everything possible to keep workers safe and has followed official guidelines

He added: ‘Through painstaking negotiation, our union and DVLA senior management were on the verge of agreeing a deal only for it to be scuppered at the last minute.

‘We strongly suspect senior ministers at the Department for Transport have interfered with the progress we were making and want to make some kind of ideological stand against PCS.

‘They have grossly underestimated the resolve of our members in DVLA and have only emboldened them to take targeted and sustained action in the months ahead until they win.

‘PCS is fully prepared for months of strike action, and we urge the Government to rethink its position.’