Posted on 09/28/2021 12:38:07 AM PDT by Cronos
Responding to an escalating crisis, Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain reversed course this weekend and offered thousands of visas to foreign truckers to combat a driver shortage that has left some supermarket shelves empty and caused long lines at gas stations.
...Since January, after Britain completed the final stage of Brexit, employers have been unable to freely recruit European workers, as was previously the case. The coronavirus pandemic has also exacerbated the crisis that stems from a long-term shortage of British truck drivers.
The British Department for Transport said in a statement that 5,000 fuel tanker and food truck drivers would be allowed to work in the country for three months in the prelude to Christmas to provide short-term relief for the commercial hauling industry. The department also noted that letters would be sent to truck drivers in Britain who hold licenses but are not currently working, appealing to them to return. The statement added that visas for 5,500 poultry workers would be made available for the same short period to reduce pressures on the food industry.
...Keir Starmer, the leader of the opposition Labour Party, criticized the government’s move and accused it of a lack of planning. Mr. Starmer told the BBC, “We knew in particular that when we exited the E.U., there would be a need for a backup plan to deal with the situation.”
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Once Brexit happened on 31 January 2020, the UK had 1 year to prepare.
But it didn't prepare
Maybe they should visit Whoville to learn that Christmas isn't in a package.
If you want more drivers then pay UK drivers more money and UK citizens will apply for the job.
Imported foreign labor is nothing but scab labor for Big Business.
I very much doubt this is going to work. I mean, think about it: You work in the UK, they kick you out, then call you back to help them out of a hole they dug for themselves and tell you you will be kicked out again after three months! Would you leave your family and job for that?
And where will the drivers come from once the three months are over? Ok, there seems to be a backlog of driving tests due to Covid, but 5000 additional UK drivers in three months? Plus, the real shortage is probably much more than 5000. Afaik about 20000 foreign drivers left after Brexit and they were stretched rather thin even before that.
Haulage firms got used to cheap foreign labour thanks to EU migration and failed to adapt to the new employment climate by improving wages and working conditions causing many drivers to leave the industry. My friend being one of them. He now enjoys a considerably higher wage and better work/life balance as a train driver in a repair depot.
They had a good run of having a cheap workforce for decades but those days are over and they need to start paying proper wages to the truck drivers to encourage them to stay.
Exactly. But the irritating part is NO ONE PLANNED For this.
The writing was on the wall — after Brexit, the industry would have to change.
Why didn’t the industry think of it? Or the government?
it’s trying to put a band-aid on a hole in the dam.
The Boris gov failed to plan for this. Shite - they should have had courses for lorry drivers from 2019 for those registering for unemployment.
We could supply them with young Afgans who have been taught to drive a truck.
“NO ONE PLANNED FOR IT”? Are you sure about that?
It’s not bad planning.
It’s payback for Brexit.
The Ruling Class over there is having a tantrum.
A question that never seems to be asked when nations seek to recruit nurses, or truck drivers, or whatever, is: are there countries with an excess of these critical workers? Probably not. The shortages of workers are just shifted around.
yes. This is clear that no one planned for it. It’s too many cogs for it to be a conspiracy. The trucking companies and the gov are both to blame
There are countries with such workers - I wouldn’t call them “excess” - but nurses from India/philippines and truckers from Poland/Romania can earn more in the US/UK, so they move
Of course they do, but is there ever a point when the more affluent nation's luring away medical personnel from poorer nations becomes immoral? We never hear what condition the medical care in nations supplying personnel to the US is like.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.