Replacement ballots available for ballot in Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency

More than 1900 members working for the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) across England, Wales and Scotland are being balloted from 16 November until noon on 13 December for strike action in a dispute over an attempt by management to erode their terms and conditions. 

They are being asked if they are willing to take industrial action in response to the driver services recovery programme. This is an attempt by the DVSA, whose staff carry out driving tests and approve people to be driving instructors, to recover backlogs to a national average of 7 weeks by 31 March 2024.  

As part of this recovery programme, the DVSA has imposed mass changes to members’ terms and conditions.

If you haven’t received your ballot paper yet, you can now request a replacement. You must request the replacement online by 8pm on 29 November by logging into your PCS Digital account. If you have any difficulties, please contact your PCS branch representative.

Why we’re voting yes 

The DVSA is willing to jeopardise members’ safety, terms and conditions and the standards of safety that driving tests require to recover the backlog of tests that was their making. 

Gary, a driving examiner, tells us that he feels “strongly” about voting yes in the ballot. 

“I, like the overriding majority of my colleagues, are concerned about the backlog and we have been working hard to try and get waiting lists down to a reasonable level since Covid,” he says. “But DVSA has now implemented a recovery plan, which not only doesn’t address the problem, but significantly and adversely affects staff from all parts of DVSA.” 

As Gary suggests, any change enforced on operational members also sets a precedent for all DVSA employees. 

Another driving examiner working for the DVSA, Caroline, is voting yes for strike action because, in her view, “this agency has changed for the worst over the last few years”.  

“It is clear that road safety and the well-being of staff do not appear to be on the list of priorities for this agency,” she adds. “Those in the decision making roles seem unaware what the role of a driving examiner involves and that we should be providing an environment of safe driving for all.” 

Key ballot dates 

• The ballot of DVSA members opens on 16 November and closes on 13 December.  
• If new members join before noon on 24 November, they will be eligible to vote. 
• The deadline for requesting a replacement ballot paper is 8pm on Wednesday 28 November. You should request a replacement online by logging into PCS Digital account. 

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