Union officials at one of Swansea's biggest employers say most staff are supporting a one-day strike over pay.

The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) mounted a picket outside the centre which employs around 5,000.

It claims there is a widening pay gap between the mainly female staff there and predominantly male workers at related transport agencies.

The DVLA said it was maintaining services to customers and working to minimise disruption.

The strike was affecting up to 8,500 Transport Department staff across the UK hitting driving tests, regional centres controlling the flow of motorway traffic as well as the half yearly introduction of new number plates.

The PCS said it was in response to a series of below inflation pay offers and widening pay gaps between the predominantly female staffed DVLA and the predominantly male Department for Transport (DfT) and related agencies.

'Contingency plans'

It claims pay gaps of £2,524 exist between DVLA and the DfT and has called for a departmental wide equal pay review.

PCS member Sarah Mayo said there was "strong support" for the strike and many of those crossing the picket line in Swansea were contractors working for privatised sectors such as IT and catering.

"We hope that after today they will look at equal pay and fund pay increases that are at least the rate of inflation."

In a statement the DVLA said "Maintaining a service to customers is a priority for the agency and we have established contingency plans to ensure disruption to customer service is minimised."

• DVLA Personalised Registrations - NEW Auction Numbers


• Car Registrations "E 6" Reduced From £132,500 Down To £85,000!!


• April UK Car Market UP 5,505 Units!


• Any Price For ‘9’ Licensed Plate?


• Driving Licence Checking Service For Employers


• DVLA Data Shows One In Five Cars Fails Its First MOT


• Over 1m Cars Scrapped Illegally Every Year


• DVLA To Clamp Down On Unregistered Driving Schools


• £470,000 For Number Plate 50 G In UAE


• £87m Spent On "Private Number Plates"


• £2.5m Raised By DVLA Calls


• Car Number Plate Theft Is On Increase


• Foreign Alphabet Plates Warning


• Special Car Registration For MR Or Mrs. "S".....


• Car Number Plates Targeted


• Brits Forked Out £87 On Car Number Plates In 2007


• WEL 5H Number Plate Fetches £27k


• Police Reminder About Safe Number Plates


• DVLA Are Striking Again....


• Gadget Will Clock Criminals’ Plates


• UK Car Registrations Healthy


• 'WEL 5H’ Plate KO’s The Pride Of Wales


• Dubai Plates Sell For Over $600k At Auction


• RMIF Reminds Motor Traders To Keep Number Plate Repro Records


• A Warning To The Motor Trade...


• Warning Over Stolen Papers - DVLA


• Hammer Down For DVLA Registrations


• DVLA - 'Sorry' For Clamp Error


• Call For Welsh Flag On Number Plates


• Let’s Hear It For Good Service - DVLA ...


• New Speed Camera - Registration Plates Not Needed....


• Avoid Foreign Car 'bargains'


• DVLA Auction Of UK Personalised Car Registrations


• 'DVLA Left Me A Phantom Car'


• DVLA Clamp Down On Car Tax Dodgers In Day Of Action


• The DVLA And An Indefensible Parking Racket


• More DVLA Documents Stolen


• Number Plate Cameras Raise £100 Million


• DVLA Scraps Plans For Motorcycle Spy Chips


• DVLA ‘loses Hundreds Of Bike Licences’


• Number Plates Confuse Car Buyers


• Undertaker Under Fire For Grim Reaper Number Plates


• DVLA Made £9 Million Selling Drivers' Details


• DVLA Issues Stolen V5 Documents Warning


• Absent Without Leave - DVLA


• Get In On The Action At The Next UAE Number Plate Auction


• Beware, Buy From Established Number Plate Dealers...


• Police Arrest 19 Following Number Plate Scanning (Bristol)


• Online Petition Launched Over Number Plate Flags


• Keep Your Plates Clean!


• DVLA CHIEFS SLAM STRIKE


• Equal Pay Strike Solid At DVLA


• Drivers Baffled By Number Plate Classification


• Plea To Legalise Flags On Number Plates


• DVLA Set To Strike On Friday


• DVLA In Road Tax Clampdown


• Latest Stock Update - New Numbers Available....


• Wrong Letters On Number Plates


• The History Of The Ultimate Car Registrations A 1 And 1 A


• Number Plates Purge


• I Was Fined For Showing Pride On My Number Plate


• Number Plates Seized


• More Police Crackdown On Illegal Number Plates


• DVLA Collects 98.5% Of Revenue


• Merseyside Police Crackdown On Illegal Plates


• Number Plate 1 - World Record Broken


• 79 Caught With Illegal Number Plates


• DVLA - Big Phone Earners....


• Car Registrations As Investments...


• DOM 41N Plate For Reallygooddomains.....


• Valentine Car Registrations....


• DVLA ‘loses Hundreds Of Bike Licences’


• Car Number Plates Used By Criminals


• Number Plates Become More Expensive Than Cars


• Private Number Plates - Our Cheap Special Offers.....


• BOY Racers With Dodgy Number Plates Are Being Targeted By Inverclyde Cops.


• Number " 1 " How Much?


• DODGY NUMBER PLATES HAIL FINE


• Crack Down On Illegal Numberplates


• DVLA Office To Close.....


• Warning On 'unclear' Car Plates


• Rare Number Just Come Into Stock - Investment....


• DVLA Personalised Registrations


• Record £440,000 Paid For F1 Number Plate


• Police Target Tr3ndy Car Reg Plates


• Crackdown On Registration Number Plates


• British Cameras Fooled By ‘Euro’ Number Plates


• Are Your Plates Legal?


• Car Number Plate - Expected To Fetch Record Bid


• DVLA’s Saucy New Registrations Ban


• Illegal Plates 'avoid Speeding Fines'


• Carreg.co.uk Celebrates Twenty Years In The Private Number Plate Industry


• DVLA's 5m Driver Details Giveaway


• DVLA Ban Naughty Numbers


• Tom's Car Number Plates Have A Cultural Tone


• Is The DVLA A Good Organisation To Work For?


• Ru Rich Enough 2 Buy This Car And Registration?


• Buy VIP Numbers Plates On 'first Come First Served' Basis


• Exclusive Number Plate Auction In Abudabi


• Car Plate Sales Still Rising In Shanghai


• New Stock Numbers Just In.....


• Our Customer Buys WE57 HAM


• DVLA Auction Dates And Venues For 2008


• WE57 HAM Number Plates - Record Breaker?


• ALERT - Number Plates Reduced To Clear.....


• Carreg.co.uk Invite Questions On Number Plates And DVLA


• Better For Buyers Of Private Number Plates....


• Crack Down On Illegal Number Plates


• Earn Easy Money From Number Plates


• Number Plates - Car Registrations - Warning! ....


• A Number Plate Is Not Just For Valentines Day .....


• You Can Earn Money From Number Plates...


• DVLA Registrations Release Auction Dates For 2007


• Reduced Number Plates - Changed Daily...!


• DVLA Auction Number Plates Released


• Number Plate Competition


• Vodafone To Sell Off VOD 1 - VOD 2 - VOD 3 !


• Number Plate Sales Office Webcam


• A Numberplate For "TAF1Y"


• New World Record Price For Car Number Plate - 331,500 Pounds - Will Benefit Tatton Park In Cheshire


• GOLD CAR REGISTRATIONS VIP 1 - SOLD


• Bored Agency Staff Sent Porn Emails


• DRIVERS DATA SOLD


• Private Registrations Are Trouble Free With Us..


• Car Number Plates - Rude Plates You Won't See


• Private Number Plates - Auction...


• Car Registrations Auction - Prices Hit Records!


• DVLA Workers Strip For Charity


• Car Registations For Hajji


• Number Plates For MUM