Covid: Further strike action at DVLA over safety fears

More than 500 Covid cases were recorded at DVLA sites in Swansea between September and April

Staff at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency have begun a new round of strike action over Covid safety at their Swansea workplace.

Members of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union are taking action from Wednesday until Sunday, following walkouts in April and May.

The union said a new phase of "targeted and sustained" industrial action which could last for months was beginning.

The DVLA said it had done everything possible to keep workers safe.

A coronavirus outbreak was declared at the centre in the Clase area of Swansea in December after 352 cases in the space of four months.

By April, DLVA sites in the city had recorded more than 500 Covid cases since last September among its 6,000-strong workforce.

The union is prepared for months of action, its general secretary says

PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said a deal had been almost agreed to end the dispute, but was suddenly withdrawn at the last minute without explanation.

He said: "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."

A DVLA spokesperson said: "It's disappointing to see the Public and Commercial Services union not only choose to continue with industrial action when there are zero Covid cases at DVLA, but they are also specifically targeting areas of the organisation that will have the greatest negative impact on the public, including some of the more vulnerable people in society, just as restrictions are starting to ease.

"The DVLA has worked closely with Public Health Wales along with Swansea Environmental Health and the Health and Safety Executive who have conducted regular site visits and inspections and have repeatedly confirmed a high level of compliance with control measures.

"Millions of people right across the UK are relying on essential DVLA services and PCS's demands will cause significant and unnecessary disruption to families and businesses, all at a time when they are most needed."