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Three-quarters of food businesses cannot hire the staff they need, with the shortage of low-skilled workers the greatest.
The survey also found that 40% of food businesses are experiencing acute shortages of pickers, packers and processors – a figure that was virtually nil before Brexit. Chronic shortages were three times higher in lower and unskilled roles than they were in higher skilled roles.
The most reported impact of labor shortages was increased recruitment and employment costs, with seven in 10 food producers and manufacturers reporting an increase in their labor costs. The ALP said it had a positive impact on food price inflation while raising wages positively.
Labor providers
It concluded that government support for the recruitment of UK-based workers remains “effective”. Only one in five labor providers found that their local job center provided useful support and less than one in ten found the government’s in-work compensation and employment support schemes helpful.
The result is that 69% want to expand the immigration visa route to other low-skilled roles.
These challenges look set to continue with 8 out of 10 labor providers expecting their customers to be short-supplied this Christmas and more than 60% of food producers and manufacturers expecting to not have enough workers in 2023.
“The UK food industry is a great and inclusive sector to work in, it is essential to keep supermarket shelves stocked with reasonably priced food to feed our nation and vital to our nation’s food security. £60m of food has been wasted on farms this year because we don’t have enough workers. After raising wages and investing in their sites as better places to work, food businesses are reducing their production because there aren’t enough workers available to hire.” ALP chief executive David Kemp said.
partnership
“Support schemes to attract domestic workers are not working. Despite record levels of immigration, visa schemes are not providing the numbers of food pickers, processors and packers that the food industry needs. We request that the government listen to us and work with our industry in partnership on a continuous basis to address the food industry’s labor shortage.” No
He said there was an ongoing independent review of labor shortages in the food industry “A Beginning” But this is called to act as one “catalyst”To redefine how government works with the UK food growing and manufacturing sectors. He said it must mean that “Home-grown food production is placed at the core of our national security.”No
The latest ALP UK Food Supply Chain Survey ran between 2Ndand 22NdNovember 2022. The Labor Provider Survey had 87 responses and the UK Food Supply Chain received 79 responses.
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