Staff shortage: Ministers reject industry plea for granting visas for EU haulage drivers

Ministers have rejected a petition from the logistics and retailers bodies to give temporary work visas to heavy-duty truck drivers from the EU, though they agreed that training should be increased for Britons who want to be carriers, stated reports.

As per recent reports, the UK government on Sunday (22) rebuffed a plea of granting temporary work visas to heavy goods vehicle drivers from the EU, saying "employers should invest in our domestic workforce instead of relying on labour from abroad".

“The British people repeatedly voted to end free movement and take back control of our immigration system and employers should invest in our domestic workforce instead of relying on labour from abroad,” said a government official rejecting the plea from trade bodies.

However, the ministers are willing to look at increasing training of Britons wanting to be hauliers, reports said.

“We need more training courses,” said the government member, citing industry concerns that there should be more flexibility in the operation of the apprenticeship levy and reform of the national skills fund to support the recruitment of HGV drivers

The news comes a day after it was reported that business lobby groups- Logistics UK and the British Retail Consortium (BRC)- have jointly written to UK business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng urging him to review the plans of not granting temporary work visas to drivers from the EU, and around better training.

Claiming that a shortfall of about 90,000 HGV drivers "is placing increasingly unsustainable pressure on retailers and their supply chains", the bodies said in the joint letter that while Brexit and Covid-19 caused lorry drivers to leave the UK, a temporary visa may lure them back.

An estimated 25,000 EU drivers returned home during the coronavirus pandemic and following the end of the Brexit transition period, according to the trade bodies.

"The pandemic halted driver training and testing for over 12 months, while an estimated 25,000 EU drivers returned home during the pandemic and following the end of the transition period,” the two groups said in the letter.

Warning that the situation is likely to worsen, the joint letter also claimed that demand for supplies will increase soon around the start of the new semester and may accumulate until Christmas.

Meanwhile, desperate food manufacturers are pleading with the government to allow them to call upon prisoners to solve the labour crisis.

The Association of Independent Meat Suppliers, which represents butchers, abattoirs and processors, said it had a call set up with the Ministry of Justice to explore how its members could recruit more current inmates and ex-offenders, said reports on Monday (23).