HUNDREDS of staff at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) will launch a four-day strike today in a dispute over Covid-related safety.

Members of the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) at the site in Swansea, south Wales, will walk out until Friday after talks failed to resolve the dispute.

The union said that those involved will include operational staff, who have not been working from home during the pandemic.

Further industrial action is threatened if managers do not make the safety improvements the union is demanding, such as reducing the number of staff working at the site.

There was an outbreak of Covid-19 at the offices last year, but the DVLA said it has followed official health guidance for keeping staff safe.

The agency said that the strikes were likely to delay paper applications it receives, as well as calls to its contact centre, but online services will still be available.

The PCS said progress had been made in talks, but it added that the lack of immediate moves to reduce numbers on site means the industrial action will go ahead.

Agreement had been reached on removing more than 300 desks, revising risk assessments — which has led to a further 300 staff being sent home — and a commitment on how to proceed in talks over the coming months.

PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: “That PCS members are prepared to take unprecedented strike action shows just how badly DVLA management have failed in their responsibility to keep staff safe.”

A DVLA spokesman said: “DVLA has followed and implemented Welsh government guidance at every single point throughout the pandemic as we work to deliver our essential services.”