DVLA ‘expecting to employ fewer with online drive’
THE DVLA has triggered concern by stating it expects the number of people it employs to decline in the next three years as services go online.
The major South Wales employer set out in its business plan its expectations for a fall in staff numbers.
It stated: “The agency is one of the biggest employers in South Wales, currently employing 5,497 staff in Swansea. During the next three years we expect our headcount to gradually reduce as we introduce more online services and make our processes more efficient.”
Full-time-equivalent staff numbers are due to fall to below 5,344 by March 2018.
A DVLA spokesman said: “We’d expect to achieve that figure through attrition.”
Nevertheless, local politicians are alarmed that staffing levels could fall.
Swansea East Labour MP Carolyn Harris pledged to contact the Department for Transport and the DVLA’s senior management.
She said: “I understand that technology is important in today’s fast-moving world, but never at the cost of real jobs for real people. The DVLA is one of the largest employers in Swansea East; I went to work there myself aged 16 so understand how important the agency is to those who work there.
“Natural wastage is acceptable but I will be very disappointed if redundancies are imposed as a result of this business plan. I will be contacting the senior management and the Transport Minister to get more information and will be making the case for staff retention very strongly.”
Dai Lloyd, Plaid Cymru AM for South Wales West, warned that a reduction in staff at the DVLA would have an impact well beyond Swansea.
He said: “The DVLA is a major employer in the area and we need to be wary of this threat. The loss of hundreds of jobs will have a significant impact for people not just within Swansea, but the surrounding valleys and rural communities.
“With so much going on at the moment with the Swansea Bay City Deal, the expansion of the city’s universities, the potential Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon and other investments, this news clearly goes against the grain.
“We need to maintain the employment base at the DVLA, and the UK and Welsh Governments need to ensure that these developments do not undermine the work that is being done in the region in terms of trying to increase employment levels, and importantly, providing quality employment opportunities.”
Swansea West Labour MP Geraint Davies said instead of reducing the workforce the DVLA should grasp new business opportunities that could support the growth of the organisation.
He said: “They’ve a huge, critical mass of knowledge and expertise at the DVLA for data processing and data management. We understand technology moves forward but the question is, what new markets can they exploit with their capabilities to keep employment up and, indeed, growing?
“It is the case that had we not been preparing for Brexit then many more international markets on our doorstep would be open for other public and private bodies”
Swansea East Labour AM Mike Hedges is determined there should be “no compulsory redundancies”.
He said: “I am concerned at the proposed reduction in staff at the DVLA over the next three years. While I understand the need to modernise and move more services online, it’s important that the agency is staffed to undertake the very important role it has.
“I will be seeking a meeting with DVLA management to discuss their plans and to seek assurances there will be no compulsory redundancies.”