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13 December 2023
Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency members vote for strike action
PCS members working for the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) across England, Wales and Scotland have overwhelmingly voted to take industrial action.

More than 1900 members have voted for action by a margin of 90.5% on a turnout of 59.21% in response to an attempt by management to erode their terms and conditions. Strike dates will be announced in due course.

These PCS members, who carry out driving tests and approve people to be driving instructors, are in a dispute with management over plans to reduce the backlog of tests.

The so-called ‘driver services recovery programme’ – which seeks to recover backlogs to a national average of 7 weeks by 31 March 2024 – is being driven by the political ambitions of Mark Harper, Secretary of State for Transport.

The programme poses significant safety risks to test candidates and examiners, as well as an erosion of staff’s terms and conditions. It completely fails to address the root causes of the backlog and requires staff to cover 150,000 tests above capacity.