Lack of truck drivers leads to the risk of food shortages
Before Britain’s departure from the European Union, also known as Brexit, the country’s logistics industry warned that truckers would not want to work in the UK if border checks were set up. In addition, the prolonged Covid-19 pandemic has further complicated matters as many European drivers living in the UK have to return to their home countries.
The UK supermarket industry relies heavily on drivers and warehouse workers to get fresh produce from the fields in Europe to its shelves. Richard Burnett, CEO of the Road Transport Association (UK) said that supermarkets are reporting that they are not getting the food supply as expected.
With the summer holidays approaching, the economy slowly reopening, a spike in demand for food and beverages due to hot weather and major sporting events will exacerbate the problem. Preparations for the end of the year Christmas will also be affected.
The timely intervention of the government?
According to Reuters, faced with that situation, in a June 23 letter to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, leaders of the transport, logistics, retail, and food industries called on the government to grant temporary work visas to cargo truck drivers with large tonnage (Heavy Goods Vehicle – HGV) from Europe.
The letter states that government intervention is currently the only way to prevent “critical supply chains from collapsing on an unprecedented and unimaginable scale”. In addition to calling for passports, industry leaders also expressed their desire that the HGV driver profession be included in the list of occupations with labor shortages.
In response, a UK government spokesman said there had been progressing in recruitment and training. In addition, the government emphasized that employers should focus on investing in the domestic workforce, especially those who want to find new jobs, instead of relying on labor from abroad.
Minh Ngo
