The British government has rejected calls from retail and logistics companies to temporarily ease post-Brexit immigration rules, which they say are contributing to a shortage of truck drivers and severe supply chain disruption.
Fast food chains McDonald’s, KFC and Nando’s, as well as bakery chain Greggs, faced disruptions this week as suppliers struggled to deliver orders to them.
The British Logistics Authority said Britain currently had a shortage of 90,000 truck drivers, and on August 22, it and the British Retail Consortium asked the government to grant temporary visas to truck drivers from the European Union.
Since January 1, most EU citizens planning to work in Britain need visas that are normally only available for jobs with higher wages than those in the logistics and hospitality sectors.
The British Business Department said on Saturday that it does not expect these visa rules to change.
A government spokesman said: “We want to see employers making long-term investments in the UK’s local workforce rather than relying on labor from overseas.”
The Times newspaper reported earlier on Saturday that the government was considering bringing forward a date to review visa rules to address the shortfall.
Alex Veitch, general manager of public policy at Logistics UK, said he was disappointed with the government’s decision as it could take until early next year to work through the backlog of drive tests that have built up during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The industry needs drivers now,” he said. “UK Logistics is frustrated by the government’s decision to reject the logistics sector’s call to provide temporary visas for EU heavy goods vehicle drivers as a short-term solution while new local drivers are recruited, trained and tested.”
