The government is weighing up options for fixing labour shortages in the food sector, including possible changes to visa arrangements for seasonal workers.
Environment secretary George Eustice has suggested that changes to the Seasonal Agricultural Workers’ Scheme (SAWS) – a quota-based scheme that allows farmers to recruit from overseas – were being considered, amid concerns about possible food shortages and panic-buying this Christmas.
The SAWS scheme saw 30,000 temporary workers admitted to the UK this year to fill vacancies mostly on fruit and vegetable farms, but the food production sector is still lacking workers.
At an emergency meeting organised by the National Farmers Union this week, representatives from across the food supply chain said the labour crisis – driven partly by Brexit and Covid-19 – had resulted in empty shelves in supermarkets and food left on farms as there were no workers to pick it up or process it.
They have written a letter to the prime minister, urging him to bring in a 12-month “Covid Recovery Visa” to enable organisations to recruit critical roles as a short term response to the labour shortage.
The letter also urges the government to consider a permanent, revised and expanded Seasonal Worker Scheme for UK horticulture to ensure it meets the industry’s needs, as well as an urgent review by the Migration Advisory Committee on the impact of ending free movement on the food and farming sector.
The letter has been signed by organisations representing food producers, retailers and logistics firms.
It says: “It is a travesty that this is happening in parallel with UK food producers disposing of perfectly edible food as it either cannot be picked, packed, processed or transported to the end customer. Every day there are new examples of food waste across the industry, from chicken to pork, fruit and vegetables, dairy and many other products. The food is there, but it needs people to get it to the consumers.”
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Speaking at an agricultural show in Northern Ireland yesterday, Eustice said there were concerns about how the spike in demand in the weeks up to Christmas would be handled.
“We have SAWS and we’re looking at options as to how we can change the focus of that and we hope to be able to say something on this shortly,” he said.
Earlier this week, prime minister Boris Johnson said he does “not believe people will be short of food” this autumn and winter.
Meanwhile, there are reports that some petrol stations have had to close because of a shortage of delivery drivers.
Transport secretary Grant Shapps told the BBC that the government was considering bringing in soldiers to drive fuel tankers under emergency plans.
Although the government has extended its temporary relaxation of rules covering drivers’ maximum working hours, employers and industry bodies do not believe the government is doing enough.
The Road Haulage Association has estimated that the industry is short of 100,000 drivers.
Supermarkets Morrisons, Ocado and Iceland have joined the call for HGV drivers to be added to the shortage occupation list, which they believe would enable them to bring in more drivers from overseas.
“I think the solution – even if it’s temporary – is very, very simple,” said Iceland managing director Richard Walker. “Let’s get HGV drivers on to the skilled worker list.”
The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) has suggested that labour shortages are set to continue into the autumn. In the week of 13-19 September there were 1.9 million active job adverts in the UK – a new record.
Chief Executive Neil Carberry said: “Job postings are rising in every area of the UK. That’s good news, and we are seeing more employees starting new positions than ever – but demand from employers is even higher still. There is a real chance now that shortages of available workers will slow the recovery.
“A recent REC survey of recruiters found that three in five have over 30% more vacancies than usual, and 97% said it’s taking longer to fill them.
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“Government departments must come together with industry experts to solve the shortage crisis with pragmatic and practical steps. But politicians and businesses must also do their part individually – government by addressing training at lower skill levels and allowing more flexibility in the immigration system; and companies by improving workforce planning and focusing on improved conditions and facilities as ways to attract and retain staff, not just pay.”
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