Labour unrest leads to driving licence delays

The City of Johannesburg has been informed of a labour dispute at the Driving Licensing Card Account (DLCA) department since July 20, Sandton Chronicle reports.

According to MMC for public safety councillor Michael Sun said the dispute remained unresolved.

“This may have affected applications for driving licences, leading to delays in the issuing of credit card type driving licences,” he said.

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Sun added that the DLCA was a national government department responsible for the printing of all driving licence cards for both provincial and municipal licensing centres.

The City of Johannesburg renders licensing services as an agent of the Gauteng provincial government at the various licensing centres operated by the City and is largely dependent on the guidelines, regulations and the services provided by the provincial and national governments, including that of the DLCA.

“In order to resolve the problem on a temporary basis, City of Johannesburg licensing centres will be issuing temporary licences to new, as well as renewing, driving licence applicants.”

He said these would be valid for six months and can be renewed in the event that issues at DLCA remained unresolved at the time of their expiry.

“We are concerned about the unresolved and ongoing labour unrest at the DLCA as it has seriously impacted our service delivery to the residents of Johannesburg. We will be engaging with the relevant Department of Transport [to] ensure that the temporary solution will bring minimal inconvenience to our customers.”

All other services available at the City’s licensing centres remain unaffected.

The City’s licensing department will continue to update residents on the labour unrest at the DLCA and when the issuing of credit card type driving licences would commence.

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