Over 5,000 poultry workers added to visa scheme amid labour crisis

The government has announced that 5,500 poultry workers and 5,000 HGV workers will be added to the existing visa scheme until Christmas, to ease supply chain pressures.

Recruitment for additional short-term HGV drivers and poultry workers will begin in October and the visas will be valid until 24^th December.

The measures follow unprecedented labour shortages across the whole supply chain, with an estimated 500,000 unfilled vacancies across the industry, according to a report this summer.

The situation has seen images of empty supermarket shelves become commonplace, and food and farming organisations have warned of a “substantial threat” of food inflation hitting the poorest families as we move towards Christmas.

Industry response

Commenting on the announcement, British Poultry Council chief executive Richard Griffiths said: “The Government’s move to allow temporary workers for the poultry meat sector will be welcomed by seasonal producers.

“Temporary workers from outside the UK have long been vital to delivering Christmas for our sector and given the unprecedented challenges of the last year they are needed more than ever. British turkey and goose are the centrepiece of Christmas dinners across the country and we are pleased that Government has listened.”

The Food and Drink Federation’s chief executive, Ian Wright CBE, also welcomed the government’s “pragmatic decision”, but said it is just the first step.

“This is something UK food and drink manufacturers have asked for over the last few months – including in industry’s Grant Thornton report – to alleviate some of the pressure labour shortages have placed on the food supply chain.

“This is a start but we need the Government to continue to collaborate with industry and seek additional long-term solutions.”

NFU’s vice president Tom Bradshaw added: “The NFU has worked with the wider food and drink industry to help evidence the needs of the sector and we look forward to working with government on applying the scheme for poultry and, in particular, access for smaller producers.

“We will also continue to work with government to find solutions for the wider labour needs, including trained and able butchers for pork production to deal with the increasingly serious build-up of pigs on farm and the risk of welfare issues.”

Other measures announced by the government included: up to 4,000 people will be trained as new HGV drivers; 1 million letters will be sent to all drivers with an HGV licence, encouraging them back into the industry; and MOD examiners will be used to help increase immediate HGV testing capacity by thousands over the next 12 weeks.

Food waste ‘a travesty’

Twelve organisations from the food and farming sector recently wrote to the Prime Minister asking him to implement a range of measures to tackle the current crisis:

• The introduction of a 12-month Covid Recovery Visa which would enable all involved throughout the supply chain to recruit critical roles as a short-term response to labour shortages
• Commitment to a permanent, revised and expanded Seasonal Worker Scheme for UK horticulture to ensure it is flexible and large enough to meet the industry’s workforce needs
• An urgent review by the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) on the impact of ending free movement on the food and farming sector, in the same way it is doing for adult social care.

The letter said the food and farming sector remains ‘on a knife edge’ and the situation ‘is not improving’.

The organisations added: ‘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.

‘Our industry report also highlights vital mid to long term solutions for accessing seasonal and permanent workers, and all remain equally important to ensure this situation does not arise again. But the supply chain will be critically damaged beyond recovery if it cannot overcome the immediate crisis.’

Some businesses have already had to make the decision to reduce production indefinitely or cease trading altogether.

Signatories to the letter included the British Poultry Council, NFU, British Meat Processors Organisation, National Pig Association and Dairy UK Limited.