the times | Friday March 18 2022 19News
the dispute was “entirely justified” given
the coronavirus outbreak at the offices.
The DVLA said it had spent more than
£6 million on safety and that having
returned to normal processing times by
late 2020, the industrial action had then
led to more backlogs.
It said placing crates in the corner of
a room had not affected waiting times;
that it processed 97 per cent of its appli-
cations digitally; that online services
had worked well throughout; there
were no longer delays for bus and lorry
drivers; and it aimed to be back to
normal processing times by the end of
May, with more staff hired at new
customer service sites. It denied mis-
leading drivers and said it published
waiting times online.
The DVLA said some staff could not
work from home because of access to
personal information rather than tech-
nological problems. It added: “We take
the allegations made extremely seri-
ously and are urgently investigating.
These claims are not representative of
the hardworking culture in DVLA.”
A spokesman for Shapps said: “Tax-
payers expect prompt, efficient service
from DVLA and, with the threat of
Covid diminishing, there is no excuse
for excessive delay.” The Department
for Transport said: “We take these alle-
gations extremely seriously.”
This hold-up must be resolved, leading
article, page 31year it was first installed: 1990. Every
day drivers write online complaints to
the DVLA. Some told of not being able
to visit elderly parents abroad and of
missing funerals because of delays in re-
turning passports. During training re-
cruits were repeatedly told to tell
drivers that they should expect to wait
between six and ten weeks for applica-
tions to be processed during the pan-
demic, although hundreds of thousands
of people are waiting longer than this.
Courtney said call handlers had been
told to continue saying this by the gov-
ernment, even though it would often be
untrue. Asked why they could not be
honest with callers, she said: “The min-
ister for DVLA, so the actual person
that’s in parliament that basically rules
what we do, they won’t let us change it.”
Central to the problems has been a
battle between DVLA bosses and the
Public and Commercial Services (PCS)
union, which has argued that the offices
have not been safe for workers, putting
pressure on the agency to keep num-
bers on site low. It said the DVLA had
“rushed staff back into work to deal with
backlogs” towards the end of 2020, re-
sulting in Public Health Wales declar-
ing an outbreak at the offices.
Sarah Evans, chairwoman of the
branch, told MPs in July that there were
“massive safety concerns”. The union
said there had been more than 2,
reported infections among staff at theand found a backlash among some
members. On the branch’s closed Face-
book page, one wrote: “Do you not
realise how demoralising this is to staff
who have worked in the office through-
out the pandemic and see people off on
full pay? Even now some are still off and
are not doing any work yet they are out
and about mingling with others and
going on holiday. This is why you lost
the ballot for more strike action, people
are fed up of it.”
The latest Figures from January 17
showed an increase in employees
working from home, up to 2,598 by
this point, with 41 staff still on
Covid-related special leave.
The DVLA said this had
since fallen to 14 people.
However, there were
still only about
2,000 staff on
site.
The PCS
union
saidoffices and this was the highest number
in any one workplace in the UK. The
DVLA said that rates had always
matched those in the local area.
The union has also called for the
DVLA to do more to facilitate remote
working, saying that its technology was
“substandard” and “meant most staff
could do little or no work” from home at
the start of the pandemic. Last April
members went on strike over the issue.
There were 58 days of industrial action
over almost six months, adding a re-
ported 400,000 cases to the backlog.
On some days more than 1,000 staff
were on strike. In November the union
balloted for further strikes but less than
40 per cent voted, below the legal
threshold of 50 per cent that would al-
low a strike.
Last summer the union appeared to
have reached a deal with DVLA bosses
but it was abandoned. In June Grant
Shapps, the transport secretary, told
parliament that millions of
pounds had been spent making
the DVLA offices Covid-safe,
adding: “What we need to
know is why the de-
mands then switched
to demands about
pay and holi-
day.”
I joined
the
unionare fed up of it.
The latest Figures from Januar
showed an increase in employ
working from home, up to 2,5 9
this point, with 41 staff stil
Covid-related special le
The DVLA said this
since fallen to 14 peo
However, there w
still only ab
2,000 staff
site.
The P
union
saideached a deal with DVLA bosses
was abandoned. In June Grant
s, the transport secretary, told
ment that millions of
ds had been spent making
VLA offices Covid-safe,
g: “What we need to
is why the de-
s then switched
mands about
and holi-oinedThe union leader
T
he hardline
union leader
has been
fighting for
civil servants
at the DVLA not to
have to go to the office.
But days after
submitting her latest
set of demands to
“keep staff safe” from
the coronavirus, Sarah
Evans was planning a
holiday to New York.
“Can anyone
recommend a hotel in
NYC that’s central to
everything?” she asked
friends on Facebook on
January 23. “Going
round in circles so
want personal
recommendations.”
Evans is the
chairwoman of the
Public and
Commercial Services
(PCS) union branch at
the DVLA. Its
members have gone on
strike for 58 days over
the past year, adding a
reported 400,000 cases
to the backlog of
drivers waiting for
licence applications,
renewals and ID
documents to be
processed.
When she was
asking friends for
holiday tips, the DVLA
had implemented a
four-day working week
for staff at its offices in
Swansea after pressure
from the union. Many
staff members on the
new rota were not
expected to work at all
on their one day a
week at home.
Evans, who is
employed by the DVLA
rather than the union,has been vocal
throughout the
pandemic. In July she
told MPs on the
Commons transport
committee of “massive
safety concerns”.
In March last year,
as the union prepared
to go on strike, Evans
wrote to members in a
private Facebook
group that despite not
working in the offices
she had to be
convinced not to join
the picket line. The
union had agreed that
only staff working on
site would go on strike.
“I am currently
home,” she wrote. “I
am therefore in the
group of people who
are not being asked to
strike. I had not even
thought about the idea
of not striking. PCS
have, however, rightly
said that the rules
around the strike apply
to all, myself included.”
Giving evidence to
MPs a few months
later, she said that she
could not work from
home. “People who do
my job at my grade are
stopped from havingthis access remotely,”
she said.
Evans, who works in
the DVLA’s medical
department, is
understood not to get
any additional money
for her voluntary role
at the union branch.
The PCS said that
the DVLA had the
most coronavirus cases
of any workplace in
Britain. It said that the
DVLA “rushed staff
back into work”
towards the end of
2020, resulting in
Public Health Wales
declaring an outbreak
at the offices.
The DVLA said its
infection rates
matched those in the
local community.
Mark Serwotka, the
PCS union general
secretary, said:
“Taking strike action is
always a last resort for
any worker but our
members felt they
were faced with no
other choice to protect
their own health and
that of their families
and communities. The
dispute was entirely
justified.’’PCS union members strike outside the DVLA last yearW
ith petrol stations running
dry last autumn, Harry Holt
decided he would help out by
becoming an HGV driver.
The government had announced
plans to encourage new drivers to
sign up for jobs. Holt, an engineer
who served in the army for 14 years,
had previously gained an HGV
driving qualification while in the
military. Four months after sending
his forms, he had still not heard
anything back and was unable to
get help from the call centre.
The father of three, from Bury,
Greater Manchester, said: “I was
thinking this could be really great,
there’s a push to get people into
HGV driving and I’m qualified and
looking for a change. But now I
can’t move forward.”The DVLA said it understood the
impact delays had on customers and
that some might be able to keep
driving while applications were
being processed, provided they had
not been told not to drive by their
doctor or optician. The agency said
there had been delays in cases with
medical issues because NHS staff
had often prioritised other work.News
ANDREW MCCAREN FOR THE TIMEShome they’d just get a day off ’
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