Covid: DVLA staff to vote on strike action after cases

Staff at the DVLA headquarters, which has seen more than 500 Covid cases since September, are to be balloted for strike action.

The PCS union said the DVLA had been "forcing" staff to go into the Swansea office despite the infections.

It comes after MP Geraint Davies called for the UK government to reduce the number of workers at the centre.

Boris Johnson said at Prime Minister's Questions all staff who can work from home, were working from home.

The DVLA rejected claims it is "an unsafe place to work".

The ballot will be open from 18 February until 11 March, the union said.

Both Mr Davies and the PCS Union said 250 people were working on the site last March, but that number is now in the thousands.

It was announced last month that one member of staff had died with coronavirus.

PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: "It is a scandal that DVLA have insisted over 2,000 staff members come into work every day, despite having the biggest outbreak of Covid in an office workplace within the UK."

He added management had shown a "cruel indifference" to staff's concerns.

The coronavirus outbreak was declared at the offices in the Llansamlet area of Swansea in December after 352 cases in the space of four months. The total number of Covid cases at the site now stands at 526, according to Mr Davies.

Speaking at Prime Minister's questions, Labour MP for Swansea West, Mr Davies, said thousands were now working at the site "facing a more infectious and widespread disease".

"Yesterday 90 people were sent home following the latest outbreak of coronavirus just before the weekend," he told the Commons.

"Given that BT are on standby to install home secure technology to allow home working, will the prime minister meet with me and the union ahead of the strike ballot next week so that workplace numbers can be reduced until the vaccine is rolled out to keep people safe and avoid an unnecessary strike?"

The DVLA later said only 37 staff had been sent home on Tuesday after one staff member had tested positive.

It added this had not been declared an outbreak by Public Health Wales.

The prime minister responded that "to the best of my knowledge" out of the workforce of 6,000 there were "thankfully" only nine cases of Covid now and three of those individuals were currently working from home.

Mr Johnson said that the DVLA was pursuing a working from home strategy.

He added the UK government was "rolling out lateral flow tests" but said the "long term solution" was vaccinating people.

A DVLA spokesperson said: "We care deeply about the safety of DVLA staff and we fully reject the claims made that DVLA is an unsafe place to work. Rigorous protocols are in place to ensure a Covid-secure workplace.

"We are disappointed that the trade union feel that industrial action is justified, not only because of the current low rate of positive cases among DVLA staff, but also because we are actively working with PCS on further steps that can be taken to keep staff safe on site."