MSA Newslink November 2021

News
Strike action likely as PCS ballots DVLA
in ongoing row over working conditions
The ongoing row between the DVLA and
its employees shows no sign of abating,
with the PCS union which represents the
majority of the workforce holding a ballot
on industrial action.
Driving licence acquisition and
renewals are said to be “several weeks
behind” normal service standards as a
result of changes to working patterns
during the pandemic, and the news that
strikes are likely will only exacerbate this
situation further.
The DVLA admitted recently that it had
54,000 HGV licences awaiting
processing – many of them renewals.
The PCS union has advised its
members to vote ‘Yes’ in the latest ballot,
which runs until 10 November.
What is the dispute all about?
The PCS is asking members if they
would be prepared to take part in strike
action and action short of a strike to win
the dispute that has been ongoing since
February.
Staff have been incensed by what they
see as a lack of regard for their health
and safety during the pandemic.
The PCS says there have been more
than 900 Covid cases and it puts the
blame for this on senior management’s
reluctance to embrace home working and
new shift patterns, despite such changes
to the working regime becoming normal
in the rest of the civil service.
At a recent Select Committee debate
on the issue in the House of Commons,
at which Baroness Vere, Minister for
Roads, and Julie Lennard, Chief
Executive DVLA, gave evidence, the PCS
representative commented that “I have
never encountered, in 21 years, the level
of incompetence and mismanagement
that is on display at DVLA in Swansea.”
A major bone of contention is that an
agreement was reached in June on
working conditions, only for DVLA
management and the Department for
Transport to go back on key parts of the
deal, the union claimed.
PCS members told the union’s website
that they were fully behind the union on
this issue. For Thomas it’s about respect:
“It’s time to tell senior management we
deserve respect; we should not be
scapegoated for their lack of innovation.”
Fellow staff member Sarah said she
voted yes because she believes the DVLA
“should not be allowed to gamble with
our safety”.
“I also vote yes to show a stand of
unity going forward to help get better
pay, better working conditions and better
IAM calls for clarity on escooters
The vipers’ nest that is
the DVLA HQ in Swansea.
Relations between senior
management and the
workforce are said to be
at an all-time low in what
has always been a
fractious working
environment. One
employee said they were
voting ‘yes’ to strike
action because “the CEO
told me not to...”
treatment overall,” she said. “We are not
the poor relative of all other civil servant
departments, we are their equal and we
demand that we are treated the same.”
In a demonstration of the depth of
feeling against the senior management,
she added “I vote yes because my CEO
told me not to.”
Daniel said concerns about Covid
safety on site was his reason for voting
yes. “I am voting yes after pinging twice
(for Covid) in as many weeks. I was only
in for one-and-a-half days on each
week,” he said.
DVLA management have said that the
confidential nature of aspects of their
work had meant home working was
difficult to organise, and pointed out that
while they understand there are HR
issues, the PCS vote on strike action only
just climbed above the 50 per cent
threshold required to make any industrial
action legal.
12
IAM RoadSmart is calling for the Government to
make up its mind now on how it handles
e-scooters on the road.
The plea comes after Department for
Transport’s (DfT) latest findings in: Reported
Road Casualties Great Britain, Annual Report:
2020 revealed for the first time that there were
484 casualties involving e-scooters, of which one
person was killed, 128 were seriously injured
and 355 slightly injured.
These findings come after e-scooter firms were
given the green light to start trials on UK streets
in July 2020, sparking a surge in e-scooter
usage. However, the results of these pilot
schemes have been delayed, meaning a full
review of this new form of transport is yet to be
established.
Neil Greig, Director of Policy and Research at
IAM RoadSmart, commented: “We have another
Christmas looming where people will be buying
and using a totally unregulated form of transport
in the UK. The police should make it absolutely
clear that anyone caught riding an e-scooter
outside private land or a trial area will have their
vehicle seized immediately.
“E-scooters may have a role to play in the future
transport mix, but this can only happen once their
legal status has been made completely clear and
that cannot happen soon enough.”
• Next month: Full review of escooter law
NEWSLINK n NOVEMBER 2021