Wednesday, August 25, 2021
Those empty supermarket shelves
As the designated grocery shopper in my household, I have noticed, along with others, the sudden increase in the number of empty supermarket shelves and non-availability of certain essential items since lockdown eased. At first it was cat food, now it is a whole range of goods which are becoming difficult to find.
Wales-on-Line reports that shoppers have been left angered at the lack of items available in supermarkets across Britain, blamed on Brexit, a shortage of staff and 'pinged' workers.
And that in an attempt to distract from the glaring gaps on the shelves, supermarket staff have become creative in hiding the lack of stock. Some are removing entire aisles to hide the fact that they cannot fill them.
It is little wonder the Guardian is reporting that desperate food manufacturers are pleading with the government to be able to call upon prisoners to solve a labour crisis blamed on the double blow of Brexit and Covid:
The Association of Independent Meat Suppliers, which represents butchers, abattoirs and processors, said it had a call set up with the Ministry of Justice on Monday that would explore how its members could recruit more current inmates and ex-offenders.
To fill vacancies companies are trying to draft in prisoners via a scheme that allows inmates to undertake paid work on day release. They are also contacting charities for ex-servicemen and women to try to drum up staff.
Tony Goodger of the meat suppliers’ association said some of its members already had inmates on the release on temporary licence programme working for them and found them to be an asset. It had also been in contact with the Career Transition Partnership, which helps former service personnel into work, and had been able to point some of them to members with job vacancies; however, the “numbers are low”, he said.
“Much of the food industry is facing a recruitment crisis,” said Goodger. “The advice we have received from the Home Office is that the UK’s domestic labour force should take priority. However hard we and many of the members have tried, staffing remains a challenge.”
Of course if the government was not so obsessed with restricting the free movement of labour between the UK and the EU, this crisis would not be so bad. Surely it is time they changed the regulations.
Wales-on-Line reports that shoppers have been left angered at the lack of items available in supermarkets across Britain, blamed on Brexit, a shortage of staff and 'pinged' workers.
And that in an attempt to distract from the glaring gaps on the shelves, supermarket staff have become creative in hiding the lack of stock. Some are removing entire aisles to hide the fact that they cannot fill them.
It is little wonder the Guardian is reporting that desperate food manufacturers are pleading with the government to be able to call upon prisoners to solve a labour crisis blamed on the double blow of Brexit and Covid:
The Association of Independent Meat Suppliers, which represents butchers, abattoirs and processors, said it had a call set up with the Ministry of Justice on Monday that would explore how its members could recruit more current inmates and ex-offenders.
To fill vacancies companies are trying to draft in prisoners via a scheme that allows inmates to undertake paid work on day release. They are also contacting charities for ex-servicemen and women to try to drum up staff.
Tony Goodger of the meat suppliers’ association said some of its members already had inmates on the release on temporary licence programme working for them and found them to be an asset. It had also been in contact with the Career Transition Partnership, which helps former service personnel into work, and had been able to point some of them to members with job vacancies; however, the “numbers are low”, he said.
“Much of the food industry is facing a recruitment crisis,” said Goodger. “The advice we have received from the Home Office is that the UK’s domestic labour force should take priority. However hard we and many of the members have tried, staffing remains a challenge.”
Of course if the government was not so obsessed with restricting the free movement of labour between the UK and the EU, this crisis would not be so bad. Surely it is time they changed the regulations.
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Yes, highly-paid footballers can come and go as they please, but not HGV drivers. (Or nurses, or lab technicians or care workers ...)
There is not enough uk labour force to fill the vacancies.Equally those who apply will need training.Will we be accepting lower standards?
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