Hundreds of staff at the DVLA are to stage a three-day strike in a dispute over pay.

About 650 members of the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) at a DVLA contact centre in Swansea, south Wales, will walk out from Friday in protest at cuts to Saturday pay.

The union said staff recruited this year were not being paid an allowance for Saturday working, while others faced a 50% cut.

PCS industrial officer Keith Johnston said: "This dispute is vitally important to everyone in the agency. If the employer is able to cut the pay of our members in the contact centre then it will inevitably seek to reduce the terms and conditions for the rest of DVLA staff.

"We have a shared interest in protecting our pay, terms and conditions and resisting the race to the bottom where our conditions are constantly compared to the worst paying bosses.

"Workers elsewhere in the civil service get extra weekend pay.

"There seems to be the idea that South Wales is a low wage economy and DVLA can get away with exploiting its staff there. This is completely unacceptable."

DVLA said in a statement that the strike could lead to a reduced service and longer waiting times.

:: PCS members at the National Museum of Wales will strike on Saturday in a separate dispute over weekend allowances.