Striking staff at Northern Ireland's 15 vehicle test centres have returned to work after a three- month strike in pursuit of a pay claim. The strikers' union, the Northern Ireland Public Service Alliance (Nipsa), told The Irish Times last night it could escalate the disruption in other parts of the public sector.
The Driver and Vehicle Test Agency (DVTA), which runs the vehicle test centres and organises driving tests, is now working to clear a backlog of up to 100,000 car tests.
Nipsa insisted the campaign for cost-of-living pay rises for the past two years will continue and that the decision of the striking test centre staff to return to work was not indicative of a lessening of their resolve.
A revised pay offer of over 4.6 per cent over 16 months from the British government earlier this month has not been accepted following intensive talks between the two sides in Belfast..
The union, which represents a range of public service staff, is anxious to spread the burden of industrial action across its wider membership.
Staff at Northern Ireland's planning offices have stepped up their agitation, while workers who process agricultural grants have also been involved in disruption.
Industrial action is anticipated elsewhere in the public sector as early as next week.
Mr Stanley Duncan, chief executive of the DVTA, said: "Clearly it will take some time to work through the backlog that has built up over the last three months.
"However, we have put a number of measures in place over the past few weeks to assist customers and help us to focus on those who have been affected the most." Motorists who have applied for appointments for the vehicle test, but have been unable to get them on time, should receive certificates of temporary exemption this week, he said.
For the union, Mr John Corey insisted the return to work did not mean the industrial action had broken down.
"We said last week that we were reviewing the action in MoT centres as part of the strike strategy involving different key groups of civil servants," he said.
Mr Glyn Roberts, of the Federation of Small Businesses, said the strikers' decision to go back to work had saved jobs. "It is clear that Nipsa have listened to the concerns we have raised with them about the impact this strike is having on the local economy."