UK business & financial reforms
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Business leaders have warned that the British government’s idea of temporarily issuing 10,500 temporary visas to truck drivers and agricultural workers to address the shortage of workers is not going to go far enough to address the crisis.
The Department of Transportation announced several measures on Saturday night that are helping to address the shortage of drivers caused by the Brexit and Covid epidemics.
But business leaders have called on ministers to restrain some restrictions so as not to cause unrest before Christmas.
Ruby McGregor-Smith, president of the British Chambers of Commerce, likened the announcement to “throwing a water cage over a fireplace”.
“Now they have taken action, but further testing will take time and the amount of unlicensed visas is not enough,” he said.
“While this long-term opportunity may attract more people who are allowed to follow the policy, it will not be enough to address the problem that has already arisen during our marketing process.”
The lack of drivers has created gaps in some shopping malls and in long queues at gas stations.
On Saturday, BP, one of the world’s largest fuel-efficient vehicles, claims between 10 and 15 percent of its capacity 1,200 stations in the UK had run out of one or more oils, while a few had been sealed.
Announcing Saturday night, DfT said 5,000 HGV drivers would be added to the existing visa until December 24 to support the food and fuel industries and the need for drivers in the “special” period.
A further 5,500 chicken work visas will also be issued to avoid further industrial problems.
The announcement represents a major change in the cabinet, which has repeatedly said for several weeks that it does not want to release more strict British post-Brexit laws.
The government says the long-term solution to this problem is to train more UK drivers instead of relying on contract workers, many of whom have returned to Britain after leaving the EU.
But Boris Johnson, Prime Minister, has called on ministers to move quickly to address growing problems and end the “fear of pumps” in the media.
The government emphasized that additional visas would not be possible in the long run. “Change in the company is important,” it said. “That’s why the government continues to help companies deal with this problem by trying to test and recruit, paying them well, performance and diversity.”
The tour operators have warned against a lack of skills of more than 90,000 due to a lack of EU staff and a temporary break from training new British pilots during the epidemic.
Andrew Opie, director of food and development at the British Retail Consortium, warned that the number of new foreign HGV visa visas is not enough.
“Reducing 5,000 visas will not solve the current problems,” he said. “Supermarkets alone say they need at least 15,000 HGV drivers for their businesses to be able to do all the work before Christmas and avoid distractions or complications.
“In order to appease millions of families during the festive season we urge the government to increase the program, size and size,” he said.
Other changes designed to reduce these problems include the training of 4,000 people as new HGV drivers.
The Training Department is selling up to $ 10m to create free “skills development camps” to train up to 3,000 new HGV operators.
The other 1,000 will be trained through community-based education programs supported by a state-run adult education budget, the government said.
Nearly a million letters will be sent to all drivers with a HGV driver’s license, urging them to return to the companies.
Experts from the Ministry of Defense will be deployed to help increase the testing capacity of HGV operators over the next 12 weeks.
Grant Shapps, travel secretary, said: “After 18 very difficult months, I know the importance of this Christmas for all of us and that is why we are taking this very soon to make sure the preparations are going well.”
Ian Wright, head of the Food and Drink Federation, welcomed what he called a “decision” to extend the visa system temporarily.
“This is what UK food and beverage manufacturers have been asking for for the past few months. . . to reduce some of the workloads that have been introduced, ”he said. “This is a start but we need the government to continue to work with companies and find other solutions in the long run.”