Logistics Uk Wants Government To Grant Eu Drivers The Temporary Visa

By Author: VSL Logistics
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The UK’s supply chain has witnessed great pressure due to the shortage of delivery personnel. In order to meet the high supply chain demand, the logistics sector wanted the government to grant visas to temporary truck drivers.

Alex Veitch, the general manager of Public Policy, clarified that the supply chain industry needed more than 90,000 truck drivers to cater to the rising demand for road freight. The stress could only be minimized by giving the EU workforce permission to enter the logistics industry and streamline the supply chain market. There is no doubt that logistics had always relied on these EU truck drivers for the past few years. However, these temporary truck drivers could not serve the industry anymore due to Brexit at the beginning of this year. Even though the training has started for the new drivers, the current workforce doesn’t seem to be adequate to fulfill the high road freight demand. That is why the sector was pressing the government to consider granting visas to the European workforce to bring them back to the domestic market.

The ...
... same has been done in the agricultural sector through the Seasonal Worker Scheme. Now, to transport the food to different areas, the logistics want the government to allow the EU truck drivers to start operating in the logistics sector. These workers have worked hard during the pandemic to make sure that each home and business has the grocery and regular-use items. They played a pivotal role in supplying the essentials safely to homes and companies. Now, the driver test backlog and the training program are highly unlikely to be completed before the New Year, making it super challenging for the UK logistics to handle large demand for supplies until then.

Veitch mentioned that trained and qualified drivers might help solve the current problems faced by the logistic industry on some level, but they can’t help with the “out-of-the-stock” issues that have made a tremendous impact on the economy. Simply put, there are fewer personnel qualified to carry out these jobs, while others simply need thorough training to execute the regular tasks effectively. That is the reason why Logistics UK is stressing on the visas for the EU drivers. The industry wants the government to reconsider and reevaluate its decision of not granting visas to European truck drivers. In the meantime, the senior executives want the logistics sector to provide the lorry drivers with the respect they deserve, after all, they are responsible for handling all the supply chain demands of the economy.

The head of Walker Logistics Ltd, Charlie Walker, mentioned that the industry has been experiencing a shortage of workers in the logistics industry for as long as they can remember. However, they always had it under control until now. Besides, the country never experienced such a severe shortage of EU drivers in the past. The condition has got worse after the pandemic, but the executives at the UK logistics industry clarified that even before the pandemic, there were over 60,000 people required in the logistics sector. Although the COVID-19 and Brexit are blamed mainly for this shortage of the workforce, it is high time for the logistics industry to evaluate its role in meeting this high demand. One thing that has made it pretty disturbing for people in this industry is the fact that the logistics sector has always undervalued the lorry drivers. They are not given the respect they deserve, not only from the logistics sector but by other industries as well.

The shortage will continue

The worst part is that this shortage is expected to continue over time. The job entails 60-hour work every week and only a few stops at the restrooms and the nights spent in the parking lots are far from safe. Add to this the unfair pay rates, and it is clear why people do not want to be truck drivers in the UK logistics industry. Believe it or not, but people stacking shelves at malls and in the supermarkets seem to have better jobs. They get to have dinner with their families, restful sleep in their own beds, and better pay.

That’s why the experienced logistics drivers have walked out of this industry and the sector has been able to convince fewer youngsters to become part of the logistics, replacing these professional truck drivers. However, the rising demand had always been met by the personnel from Britain. The country had played a big role in supplying an adequate workforce to meet the never-ending supply chain demand in UK logistics. That, however, is no longer an option after Britain’s withdrawal. A vast majority of the current drivers working in this sector are above 55. So, the only way to fill the gaps is by making the role more appealing and lucrative for the youngsters.