Dates Announced In First Wave Of PCS Civil Service Strikes

6th December 2022

Driving examiners and rural payment officers across the UK have announced strike dates in the first wave of sustained industrial action by civil servant members of PCS.

Workers at the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency, including driving examiners, staff in the call centre, driving instructor examiners and local driving test managers, are to take action on a rolling regional basis starting in Scotland and Northern from 13-18 December. And staff at the Rural Payments Agency will walk out from 13 to 16 December and follow that up with further strikes on 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23 December and 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 January.

The RPA offices in Workington, Newcastle and Caernarfon will be striking.

The DVSA strikes will continue from 19-24 December in the North West, Yorkshire and Humber and North Wales, on 28, 29, 30, 31 December and 3 January in the West Midlands, Eastern region and East Midlands and from 4 to 10 January in London, South East, South Wales and South West.

There will be DVSA strikes on 18, 19, 20 and 21 December, covering traffic examiners and vehicle examiners employed across all DVSA workplaces. And on 12, 13 and 16 January 2023 covering Newcastle Lightbox and Newcastle Tyneside House.

DVSA and RPA are two of 124 government departments and other public bodies that have voted for strike action over a 10% pay rise, pensions justice, job security and no cuts to redundancy terms. The targeted action could take place well into 2023.

PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: "This is the first wave of the hardest-hitting industrial action the government will have faced in decades and will cause a massive amount of disruption.

"The government, which has spent years turning a blind eye to our pay demands, will no longer be able to ignore us.

"Our members are proud of their work, so it's not easy for them to take action they know will affect the very people they came into the job to serve.

"But the government has given them no option. Their pay has fallen far below inflation and many of our members - the government's own workforce - are forced to use foodbanks because they can't afford to eat.

"The government is in the position to stop these strikes by putting money on the table. Ministers must know we will not stop until our demands are met and our members receive the decent pay rise they need to get them through the cost-of-living crisis and beyond."

PCS will be announcing strike dates in other departments, including the Home Office and Department for Work and Pensions, over the course of the next few weeks.

Where The Strike Will Hit
ACAS
British Museum
Cabinet Office
Charity Commission
Maritime & Coastguard Agency
Scottish Public Services Ombudsman
Natural Resources Wales
Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service
Independent Office for Police Conduct
Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)
Driver & Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)
Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS)
Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC)
Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS)
Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA)
Audit Wales
Department for Education
Natural England
Competition Service
Gambling Commission
Historic England
Health & Safety Executive (HSE)
Historic Environment Scotland
Home Office
Insolvency Service
HM Land Registry
Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra)
Creative Scotland
National Galleries of Scotland
National Museums of Scotland
National Audit Office
National Lottery Heritage Fund
Department for Transport
National Library of Wales
National Museums Liverpool
Gangmasters & Labour Abuse Authority
Information Commissioner's Office (ICO)
Ofgem
Competition & Markets Authority
Office for National Statistics & UKSA
OFWAT
Ofsted
UK Intellectual Property Office
Vehicle Certification Agency
Planning Inspectorate
National Archives
Registers of Scotland
Transport Focus
Sports Grounds Safety Authority
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Equality & Human Rights Commission
Scottish Enterprise
NatureScot
Scottish Government
Serious Fraud Office
Skills Development Scotland
The Council of the RFCAs
Sport England
Scotland’s Commission for Children & Young People
RFCA West Midlands
Scottish Courts & Tribunals Service
Legal Aid Agency
UK Research & Innovation (UKRI)
Visit Scotland
Government Legal Department
Parole Board for England & Wales
Animal & Plant Health Agency (APHA)
Wallace Collection
Senedd Cymru (Welsh Parliament)
Scottish Human Rights Commission
Scottish Prison Service
Scottish Parliament
Student Loans Company
Architecture & Design Scotland
Higher Education Funding Council for Wales
National Highways
Westminster Foundation for Democracy
Independent Living Fund Scotland
Rural Payments Agency
Defence, Science & Technology Laboratory
Electoral Commission
Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC)
Security Industry Authority
UK Space Agency
Marine Management Organisation
Youth Justice Board
Local Government Boundary Commission for England
Northern Ireland Office
Prisons & Probation Ombudsman
Wales Office
Courts and Tribunals Judiciary
Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority
Children’s Commissioner for England
Food Standards Scotland
Crown Estate Scotland
Risk Management Authority
Local Democracy & Boundary Commission for Wales
UK Debt Management Office
Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS)
Social Security Scotland
Scottish Housing Regulator
Revenue Scotland
Department of International Trade
Bord na Gaidhlig
Forestry Commission England
Scottish Forestry
Leasehold Advisory Service
Forestry and Land Scotland
UKSV (Cabinet Office)
Disclosure and Barring Service
Veterinary Medicines Directorate
Institute for Apprenticeships
Office for Students (OfS)
Transport Scotland
Accountant in Bankruptcy
Disclosure Scotland
Education Scotland
Office for the Scottish Charity Regulator
Scottish Public Pensions Agency (SPPA)
National Records of Scotland
South of Scotland Enterprise
Trade Remedies Authority
UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA)
Office for Health Improvement & Disparities (OHID)