The DVLA could be gridlocked by months of strike action as the long-running row over Covid safety rumbles on.
As hundreds of workers walked out on Tuesday until Thursday the road ahead looks uncertain unless a deal is hammered out at the Swansea agency between both sides.
Union bosses are fighting for staff numbers working within the city office sites to be cut back.
But DVLA chiefs have repeatedly said they have put staff safety first throughout the crisis.
It emerged back in September that DVLA workers went off work with stress amid claims social distancing rules were not being adhered to at the site.
They were so worried over the risks posed by Covid that they took the measure in a bid to protect themselves from the virus.
Fears were sparked after two workers who were said to have the deadly virus were working on the same floor as staff with underlying health conditions.
It is claimed workers were failing to follow rules of sitting two metres apart on the DVLA bus service which brings scores of the 6,000 strong team into the office.
Spiralling cases of coronavirus were seen from 535 cases from September on compared to just 11 cases between March and September.
Fury mounted after it emerged chief executive Julie Lennard had only been there “six or seven times” since September, although staff were being made to go into the office.
Get the SwanseaOnline newsletter straight to your inbox
Sign up to the SwanseaOnline newsletter to receive our top stories straight to your inbox.
It takes just seconds to sign up - simply click here, enter your email address and follow the instructions.
Changed your mind? There's an 'unsubscribe' button at the bottom of every newsletter we send out.
She told members of the Transport Select Committee she had been at the site every day until last April but less so since then. Ms Lennard justified her stance as she did not wish to pose an infection risk by walking from floor to floor.
She said: “In March, I was there every day probably until April. After that I was there more in the first wave and that peak than now, particularly because of the requirements as we increased people coming into the office.
“It was very difficult for me to go around and talk to people, go around from floor to floor - I would have introduced the infection risk.”
Louise White, HR and estates director at the site, also revealed she too had not been on he site since October although her team were made to go into the office.
Ms White, also during the hearing, said: “I haven’t been there since October but the team has been there and I have been shown virtual videos. I do not think it is appropriate to walk around the site.”
Hot-desking, a lack of cleaning or hand gel and wipes were complained of and the workforce also claimed there were too many people were being allowed through the doors of the building.
The chief executive suggested there were 1,500 people working from home at the start of the crisis but questions were sparked by the claims set out in a letter to the committee who said she had put 2,000 in a letter to them.
It led her to vow to come back to the committee with “date by date” information as staff were going into work at a time that the Government was urging people to work from home if possible.
The level of cases at the DVLA led Swansea Council to dish out an order under regulation 8 for the site, MPs were told which called for an action plan to tackle Covid-19 control measures on site.
A Swansea Council spokesman, at the time, said: “DVLA complied and implemented the required measures accordingly.”
Back in January, a DVLA worker died after an outbreak of coronavirus at the Swansea offices, which led the number of cases to come under the microscope at the Government agency and for the issue to be talked through by MPs and the Prime Minister.
It led Boris Johnson to tell MPs the UK Government was working “flat-out” to control an outbreak at its sites in Swansea after 500 cases at its contact centre left staff scared to go to work.
Unions back in February claim senior management and Transport Secretary Grant Shapps have “abjectly failed” to keep the staff at the Swansea site safe but the Department for Transport has said that staff were being protected with the “rigorous protocols” in place.
The DVLA was dubbed as having the “worst workplace Covid outbreak in the UK” and 100 staff were said to be operating on the same floor.
Fed-up staff have headed up to London to hand-delivered a letter to the Transport Secretary Mr Shapps, calling for him to intervene in the case, and they were supported by MPs Stephen Kinnock and Carolyn Harris as they handed it in a couple of weeks ago.
It came after a proposal deal to end the dispute was pulled leading to a third period of strike action to take place.
Workers, represented by the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union based in Swansea, headed out on strike.
PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka claimed the DVLA and Department for Transport were not interested in settling this dispute.
He accused managers of hiring contractors to carry out the work of those on strike.
Mr Serwotka said: “The cost of using a contractor to carry out work done by DVLA staff could be used to settle the dispute alongside putting the original deal back on the table.
“Instead, public money is being wasted on trying to undermine our legitimate strike action, which will only have the opposite effect.
“Targeted action will continue at the DVLA for months to come unless the original deal, which both parties had agreed in principle, is back on the table
“Senior DVLA management have grossly underestimated the resolve and determination of our members who want to see a just settlement to this dispute.”
The DVLA has indicated that there are no positive cases of Covid-19 within its 6,000 strong workforce and out of the 25,000 tests issued there were previously five positive results, which helped to identify asymptomatic people working in the office.
Investment in fitting Perspex screens, temperature check stations along with enhanced cleaning has seen the DVLA shell out more than £4.7 million to keep staff on the site safe.
The agency said people who can work from home are doing so and the only staff on site are those who are unable to carry out their duties from home.
A DVLA spokeswoman said: “It’s disappointing to see the Public and Commercial Services Union choosing to continue with industrial action and targeting services that will have the greatest negative impact on the public, affecting some of the more vulnerable people in society, including the printing and mailing of documents such as vaccine letters for the NHS, just as restrictions are starting to ease.
“We have been negotiating in good faith and will continue to do so with the aim of finding a workable solution.
“The safety of our staff is paramount and since the beginning of the year we have implemented weekly Covid testing for everyone.
“Since the outbreak of the pandemic we have reorganised our eight buildings in line with official advice, and utilised space in a newly-leased building to further assist with social distancing measures.
“We have also installed thermal imaging cameras to carry out temperature checks on people entering the buildings.
“As these measures have been implemented, we have worked closely with Public Health Wales along with Swansea Environmental Health and the Health and Safety Executive, who have conducted regular site visits and inspections and have repeatedly confirmed a high level of compliance with control measures.
“Millions of people right across the UK are relying on essential DVLA services and PCS’s demands will cause significant and unnecessary disruption to families and businesses, all at a time when they are most needed.”
