Photo: DVLA workers on the picket line, courtesy PCS DVLA branch.
A PCS union rep at the DVLA in Swansea has said that the current strike over safety in the workplace is going to be a tough battle, but workers are prepared to continue their action to win major concessions from bosses.
Mac, a workplace rep at the site and young members organiser, was speaking in an interview with People’s Assembly Wales earlier this week.
“I think they [bosses] are going to try and dig their heels in a little bit. And that’s because they oppose the trade unions,” he said. “From their end they only care about making profit and making revenue at the cost of the workers. And it has become clear that the dispute is about that, on top of the things that we have already been fighting for.”
Mac, who was speaking in a personal capacity but with close knowledge of the situation, talked about how the current dispute was his first strike as a young worker and described the mood on the ground.
“Emotions are running high, we are going to fight for an even bigger concession than we were before.”
He said that he sees some workers who are on the verge of mental breakdowns. “They get call after call, hour after hour, day after day, and they are completely burnt out because of the increasing levels of abuse, because of the increasing pressure.”
He called for immediate respite for workers who are being pushed to the limit with a backlog of applications that now number almost 800,000. On top of this, the risk of workers being hit by a third wave, driven by the new Delta variant, is all too real.
Just this week, PCS reported cases of Covid on site at the DVLA and said these came as transmission rates in Swansea were rising, with one area of the city having the highest number of cases in Wales. There have been some 500 Covid cases on site since the offices were reopened last summer and tragically, one worker has died from the virus.
“Any return on site… we demanded to be overseen by our health and safety reps and based on genuine risk assessments,” said Mac. “I’ve spoken to members who have had occupational health assessments, where basically they’ve been told by their doctors that they should be working from home until further notice. The DVLA is ignoring that and is bringing them in.”
“So again, we cannot afford this disaster waiting to happen again, vaccinations are going great, but it’s nowhere near over. And we really have to be better safe than sorry.”
He was speaking after the union announced that a deal had been brokered with bosses and the Department for Transport (DfT) had been pulled at the last minute. The union said they were willing to put the deal to members but it had scuppered through ministerial intervention.
“We strongly suspect senior ministers at the DfT have interfered with the progress we were making and want to make some kind of ideological stand against PCS,” general secretary Mark Serwotka said.
The proposed deal included:
- A one off recognition payment to all staff for their hard work and dedication during the last year, which included those staff that have been able to work from home or on Paid Special Leave during the year
- A flex-credit of up to 2-days to staff that have been required to work in the office throughout
- Phased return to the office for those that have been on Paid Special Leave throughout the pandemic
But having withdrawn the deal without notice, the union says bosses have only made workers more determined to strike.
“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,” Mark Serwotka said
“PCS is fully prepared for months of strike action, and we urge the government to re-think its position,” he added.
The strike has also been gaining momentum through increasing levels of solidarity from across the worker’s movement.
“We’ve had great solidarity, it has been quite unprecedented, really,” said the workplace rep Mac in his interview with People’s Assembly Wales.
“We’ve had support from other trade unions, we’ve had a generous donation of £10,000 from Unite. Our reps have gone to speak at meetings like this, to try and explain what’s happening and appeal for support,” he explained.
He also said that it had been very helpful that all six Labour MPs in the Swansea, Llanelli and Neath area had been consistent in their support for the strike as well as the Socialist Campaign Group of Labour MPs.
“We’ve had loads of donations from random trades councils, trade unions, local labour parties, things like that. And in total, we have actually collected over 40,000 pounds to our strike fund.”
He said that most importantly, the support from PCS nationally had been instrumental in helping the strike. “They’ve pledged a seven digit donation figure to support us for any loss of wages for our members.”
PCS members in the DVLA are being paid £40 a day from the union’s strike fund. Individuals or organisations can donate to the strike fund here
The impact of the strike on the DVLA is becoming impossible for management to ignore. As well as an estimated 780,000 documents awaiting processing, and 60,000 items coming in the post every day, management is also struggling to handle calls.
The unions says bosses have been unable to provide phone services and only limited web chat to customers. PCS says it received reports that the DVLA had been desperately trying to source phone cover from other areas of the business, but without success as members used their right to work to rule.
Mac says that unless workers feel safe at work and get a proper respite from relentless and stressful work, the strike will continue.
“And that’s why we are fighting. We’re not going to accept anything less than that. And because of the support we’ve got from other trade unions and from organisations like [People’s Assembly Wales], and from the national PCS union, we are prepared to keep the struggle going on for months and so are our members.”
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