DVLA staff confirm six-day strike over pay and conditions

More than 650 Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union members working for the Driver and Vehicle Licencing Agency (DVLA)’s medical team have announced six further days’ strike action.

The workers, who assess people’s ability to drive before granting them a driving licence, will take action in Swansea and Birmingham from February 20 to 25.

The latest strike is part of the union’s national dispute over pay, pensions, redundancy terms and job security, and follows five days’ action which will take place from February 13 – 17 by PCS members working in offices at Ty Felin and Morriston in Swansea.

The new walkouts come a week after 100,000 PCS members in 123 government departments took strike action across the UK and a month after DVLA workers took five days of strike action.

Well-supported

PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: “PCS members took well-supported strike action a month ago at DVLA, but nothing has changed since.

“Ministers have refused to put any money on the table and until they do, we will continue to escalate our action in more and more government departments.

“Our members, who have been offered just a 2% pay rise at a time when inflation is around 10%, have had enough of being taken for granted by a government that could stop this dispute tomorrow if it wanted.”

A DVLA spokesperson said:“The quickest and easiest way to deal with DVLA is through our online services which are operating as normal during this period of industrial action.

“It is very disappointing that PCS is incentivising union members by paying them to take part in action, and by targeting the Drivers Medical department they will negatively impact some of the most vulnerable people in society.”

PCS members at the Department for Work and Pensions begin 20 days’ strike action on Thursday this week, followed next week by members at the British Museum, Animal and Plant Health Agency, and Border Force officers in Dover, Calais, Coquelles and Dunkirk.