Proposals to end the free movement of labour immediately after Brexit could spoil Christmas due to a lack of staff working in the logistics sector.
The run up to Christmas is the busiest time of year for the movement of goods and EU workers account for 13% of HGV drivers and 26% of warehouse operatives.
James Hookham, FTA’s deputy chief executive, said: “Who’s going to deliver Christmas 2019 without the EU drivers and warehouse staff? Logistics is so important to the British economy. If we want to Keep Britain Trading then we need to be finding ways to solve the existing skills shortage and not exacerbating the problem. Without these proposed restrictions there’s already an acute shortage of around 30,000 HGV drivers.”
FTA will be making a submission to the Migration Advisory Committee on the reliance of the logistics sector on EU workers. This is the review commissioned by the Home Secretary to better understand the consequences of ending migration from the EU to the UK.
Hookham concluded: “We are already starting to see an exodus of existing EU drivers because of uncertainty, the devaluation of the pound after the Brexit vote, and a more general disrespect for the great value they bring to our economy and society. Whilst we support policies that are intended to make migrants and the country better off, disrupting the logistics industry would certainly have the reverse effect. Government policy needs to be more targeted and support and protect our vital industries, such as logistics, in the interests of everyone.”
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Matt has been an automotive journalist for eight years. As senior staff writer he is responsible for the automotive content on Fleet News and also contributes to Automotive Management. Prior to this, Matt worked in the automotive industry for 10 years.
Mark - 08/09/2017 14:17
Why is this such an issue we have loads of people to replace the work force just work around some of the Britain on benefits sites and put them to work problem solved