Hundreds of workers at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) have voted to take industrial action over safety concerns around Covid.

Staff at the agency’s Swansea offices have backed strike action after hundreds of employees contracted the virus.

The Public and Commercial Services union said that the agency’s management had failed to keep employees safe and demanded that changes were implemented to protect staff or they would take strike action.

Members of the union backed strikes by 71.6 per cent on a turnout of 50 per cent. The union says it will now seek to meet with management before deciding its next step.

Why are DVLA staff threatening to strike?

The PCS union says staff at the DVLA’s Swansea HQ are being forced to work in unsafe conditions after a Covid outbreak was declared at the centre in December. Three hundred and fifty-two cases were reported at the site in the space of four months and a total of more than 500 cases recorded at DVLA sites around the city.

More than 6,000 people normally work at the site and the union says that more than 2,000 staff have been going to the office every day, despite the size of the outbreak. The union says it wants to see the number of staff in the office reduced to hundreds and vulnerable staff either allowed to work from home or be offered paid leave.

There have also been accusations that proper safety measures have not been taken to protect staff.

PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: “This result is a damning indictment on DVLA management in their abject failure to keep staff safe.

“Our members have sent a loud and clear message that they are not safe at their place of work.”

A DVLA spokesman said: “DVLA has followed and implemented Welsh Government guidance at every single point throughout the pandemic.

“Cases of Covid-19 among DVLA staff remain low, and currently there are just five positive cases, including those working from home, out of a workforce of more than 6,000.

“Any industrial action is likely to have a detrimental impact on motorists.”

How will a DVLA strike affect drivers?

The DVLA is responsible for overseeing many of the day-to-day operations that affect drivers and handles around one million calls to its Swansea HQ every month. Any strike is likely to lead to a delay in those services, which have already been affected by reduced staffing.

Among the key matters it handles are vehicle ownership and logbooks, including issuing a new V5C when a vehicle changes hands or a replacement if the original is lost or stolen. According to its own data, the DVLA issues 18 million logbooks a year.

It also handles all aspects of driving licences, including applications for provisional driving licences, licence renewal and replacements for a lost or stolen licence, issuing around 12m licences a year.

Car tax, including issuing reminders and refunds, as well as statutory off road notices is also the responsibility of the agency, along with managing private registration plates.

The first lockdown saw a significant reduction in the agency’s operations. The DVLA has previously warned that it is currently taking six to eight weeks to process documents but many motorists have complained on social media of waiting months for paperwork to be processed. In an effort to ease pressure it has been encouraging drivers to use online services for matters such as renewing licences, changing addresses and informing the DVLA that you’ve sold a vehicle.