Thousands of people throughout the DVLA catchment area will have been
concerned at recent media reports of 535 COVID cases at the Agency. DVLA
has contested the reported figures, but then were forced to admit the figures
were right and apologise at the Transport Select Committee. They stated the
figure was from the whole period of the pandemic, but this masks that fact that
the vast bulk of the covid-19 cases have happened more recently in the
second wave. Also it remains the case that still making staff attend work in
person at a massive Government complex like this poses a risk at a time
when the infection rate is so high.
While many are working from home, most of the operational staff in the lower
grades are having to attend work because management say outdated IT
systems cannot be adapted for homeworking. Attending work involves using
buses in many cases.
As in any large office building, everyone knows how easily even ordinary
viruses like the cold can spread, but COVID puts a new and deadly slant on
an old problem. There is even more risk now with the new variants of Covid-
19 which spread even faster and the lack of proper ventilation in workplaces.
Every time staff speak this can help spread airborne particles of Covid-19
which can fill up indoor spaces and go further than 2 metres if fresh air is not
brought into the area. Call centre work poses are real risk of spreading covid-
19 as workers are speaking all day for their jobs.
The overriding ethos of DVLA is to maintain output and productivity and their
attitude towards everything else including health and safety is coloured by
this. Sick absence is punished in the same way as misconduct, with formal
warnings and dismissal.
The safety of workers cannot be entrusted to DVLA or any other Government
Department or Agency. PCS General Secretary Mark Serwotka says he has
intervened with Ministers regarding DVLA, but more is needed. PCS must
give a lead now and take collective action to get workers out of an unsafe
environment.
Broad Left Network
The Broad Left Network is the Socialist Group inside PCS and our immediate
concerns are the employment and workplace issues that face members,
particularly health and safety at this time.
During this pandemic, we say:
all staff should work from home unless they are key workers and their
work can only be delivered from the workplace. The definition of a key
worker must be agreed with the union, not just imposed by
management.
Special leave with pay for all those who cannot work from home and
are not key workers.
All sick leave related to Covid-19 to be written off including conditions
related to long-covid
Additional compensation for extra expenses incurred through working
at home eg fuel bills.
The current Left Unity led National Executive Committee has failed to
organise members to respond collectively to achieve a national collective
agreement from the employer. Rather they have left branches like DVLA and
individual members to manage on their own. Their advice to members at the
outset of the pandemic reads “This Briefing provides general information
about statutory rights which are available to all employees. We are not
advising you to do or refrain from doing anything.” In other words, you are on
your own. This is not good enough!
From the start of the outbreak, members meetings should have been
called to make it clear that they have a legal right to refuse to work in an
unsafe environment.
Workers have the right not to go into a work area where they face serious and
imminent danger and should immediately proceed to a place of safety. The
covid-19 outbreak in the DVLA workplaces has clearly shown how dangerous
it is for staff to remain travelling to and working in these buildings with the
serious and imminent threat to public health which is posed by the incidence
and the spread of this severe acute respiratory syndrome Covid-19. Union
safety reps should assist individuals in expressing and reporting fears about
the serious and imminent danger they face and why they need to invoke their
rights to proceed to a place of safety and stay at home. There is protection
and legal rights under both Section 8 of The Management of Health and
Safety at Work Regulations 1999 and Section 44 of the Employment Rights
Act 1996.The union must throw its full weight behind members rights to be
safe, tackle DVLA management to negotiate what needs to be done to protect
the whole workforce from the risk of contracting Covid-19 and take a lead in
organising members to act collectively if management fail to respond.
Working together and with a lead from the top of PCS we can keep
members and the wider community safe during this pandemic.
PCS Broad Left Network 