Published in : 09/26/2021 – 12:33Modified : 09/26/2021 – 15:55

The UK will grant up to 10,500 temporary work visas, half of which are for truck drivers, in response to the labor shortage, the UK government said on Saturday (September 25). An unexpected change in immigration after Brexit.

These three-month permits, from October to December, should make up for the glaring shortage of truck drivers, but also personnel in key sectors of the country’s economy, such as poultry farms.

British Transport Minister Grant Shapps on Sunday asked his compatriots to “behave normally” with their gasoline purchases, ensuring that there is no shortage of fuel and that the government is working to resolve delivery problems linked to the lack of truckers.

He also accused, without naming him, a body representing the road sector of having “triggered” the fuel shortage in the UK. “One of the organizations representing the carriers gave an irresponsible report (on possible shortages) that helped trigger the crisis,” Grant Shapps said Sunday on Sky News, denouncing a “fabricated situation” with a “very unnecessary” gesture and “counterproductive”. .

“There was a meeting about 10 days ago, where one of the transport associations decided to give details to the media,” he explained, “and it generated a fairly high level of concern, because people naturally react to this type of thing.”

In recent days and despite government calls not to panic, gas stations have been taken by assault due to shortages that also affect the shelves of agri-food products. So far, the government has not responded to calls urging it to deploy troops to help distribute the fuel.

Thousands of heavy vehicle licenses issued in the coming weeks

This decision to reopen the floodgates of professional immigration goes against the line advocated by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, whose government continues to insist that the UK is no longer dependent on labor.

For months, the government tried to avoid it, despite warnings from many economic sectors and an estimated shortage of 100,000 truckers.

In addition to these work visas, other exceptional measures must guarantee the supply before the Christmas holidays, stressed the Secretary of Transport.

Examiners from the Defense Ministry will mobilize to approve thousands of heavy vehicle permits in the coming weeks.

The Department of Education and its partner agencies will release millions of pounds to train 4,000 truckers by creating boot camps to pick up the pace.

Several visas deemed “insufficient” as Christmas approaches

Grant Shapps also asked employers to play the game by “continuing to improve working conditions and wages to retain new drivers.”

Under pressure, the government will win the recall of all heavy vehicle license holders: a million letters must go to ask those who do not drive to return to work.

However, the president of the British Chamber of Commerce, Ruby McGregor-Smith, considered that the number of visas was “insufficient” and “insufficient to solve a problem of this magnitude”. “This ad is like wanting to put out a campfire with a glass of water,” he said.

Factories, restaurants, supermarkets have been affected by the lack of truckers for weeks, even months. Frozen food group Iceland and retailer Tesco have warned of shortages ahead of Christmas.

Fast food chain McDonald’s ran out of smoothies and drinks last month. Competitor KFC has been forced to remove items from its menu, while Nando’s chain has temporarily closed dozens of restaurants for lack of chickens.

With AFP and Reuters