Can EU workers solve the heavy goods vehicle driver crisis?
The report from the Driver Require Think Tank has said the UK should look at attracting some of the 330,000 heavy goods vehicle (HGV) licence holders, of whom 235,000 are below the age of 45, back into driving for a living.
Last month the heads of Logistics UK and the British Retail Consortium said the Government needed to take immediate steps to solve the HGV driver shortage and ease the unsustainable pressure placed on supply chains.
The shortfall of drivers is estimated to stand at 100,000 drivers by the Road Haulage Association. However, according to the Driver Require Think Tank report the actual shortfall is at the most 70,000 and probably lower.
It has dismissed claims that an exodus of EU drivers caused the shortage, claiming these drivers only account for 18% of the required staff.
It added that the pandemic led to 70,000 people leaving the workforce, bringing numbers from 300,000 pre-pandemic to 230,000. Of these only 12,500 were EU nationals, most of whom it believes were under the age of 45.
“We believe the 55,000, predominantly British, over-45s left mainly in Q1 2021 when demand fell off. During this period many were self-isolating or furloughed and may have realised they preferred other options to driving for a living,” it said.
The report added that it did not believe that allowing in EU workers would solve the crisis but did agree that doubling the capacity for training capacity would work in the immediate term.
Meanwhile, IPP, the poolers of pallets and boxes, has said the industry must continue to collaborate to overcome the driver shortage.
It suggests that the industry needs to work together to maximise all empty trailers and more efficient operations can be adopted with wasted journeys being heavily frowned upon.
“While the government pledge to increase HGV driving test capacity and apprenticeships is welcome, as well as positive discussions around increasing working conditions and diversity, there is a simple and instant solution going some way to easing the issue – and we’re committed to working together with our partners to ensure the supply chain runs as efficiently as possible during these testing times,” said Shelley Harris, IPP commercial director.
Collaborative solutions
“We work on many collaborative solutions and empty running is a key focus as we find our businesses working in such turbulent times. Understanding our supply chains and maximising all empty trailers is imperative. This is a solution that IPP employ so that our supply chains continue to run seamlessly and benefit from a more efficient and sustainable way of working.
However, many in the market are still urging the Government to implement a COVID Recovery Visa to alleviate crippling labour shortages across the supply chain.
A letter from the NFU and other organisations within the food supply chain called for the 12-month COVID Recovery Visa which would enable the supply chain to recruit critical roles as a short-term response to labour shortages.
It has also called for a permanent, revised and expanded Seasonal Worker Scheme for UK horticulture and has called for an urgent review by the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) on the impact of ending free movement on the food & farming sector, in the same way it is doing for adult social care.
The letter to the Prime Minister said: “The food and farming sector remains on a knife edge due to the unprecedented shortages of workers across the entire supply chain. The industry came together in the summer to evidence these challenges, and the final report showed that there are an estimated 500,000 unfilled vacancies across the industry.
“The situation is not improving, in fact, images of empty supermarket shelves are becoming commonplace as labour shortages bite. As we move towards Christmas, there is a substantial threat of food inflation directly impacting the poorest families.
“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.”
While there are calls for help with UK production the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) said it supported the UK Government’s decision to delay imposing checks on food imports from the EU, highlighting the need to use the time to address serious issues about the future regime.
Post-Brexit border controls
Last week the UK Government announced that it was to again delay the implementation of post-Brexit border controls on phyto-sanitary and sanitary checks for imports from the EU, citing the disruption of global supply chains caused by COVID-19.
Measures, such as the requirement to pre-notify British officials about agricultural and food imports from the EU will now start on 1 January 2022, rather than on 1 October this year. Also, the requirement for EU firms to get export health certificates before sending live animals and animal products to Britain would be put back to 1 July 2022.
The EU has implemented full checks on UK goods since the start of this year.
The Government’s decision comes amidst a backdrop of concerns about shortages of some products in shops and supermarkets, and a fall in the number of lorry drivers, putting
Kate Thompson, CIEH Wales Director, said: “On balance the delays are probably sensible given the need to build more border control posts, address the skills shortage crisis and ensure businesses are ready.
“The mixed response from our members working in ports across the country shows the disparate level of readiness from port to port. Some places are reporting that they are simply not ready for these controls to be implemented.”
Source: foodmanufacture.co.uk