Extend the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme to the poultry meat sector (agriculture and processing), to protect seasonal demand for poultry meat and Christmas turkeys.Include poultry meat supply chain workers on the ‘skilled worker list’ and ‘shortage occupation list’ and reduce unnecessary thresholds on salaries and skills.If that means relaxing immigration rules or accepting regulatory alignment with the EU, then these are the steps that must be taken to put British food on the road to recovery.”Īs a sector that produces half of the meat eaten in this country, the British poultry meat industry is calling on the Government to: When the heads of major food companies, and indeed entire food sectors, stand up and say we are in the worst position they have ever seen then it is beholden on our Government to fix this catastrophic debacle of their making. This can only lead to a two-tier food system where high-quality British food is out of reach for many struggling consumers.
UK food security will be hit with a double whammy of food inflation and being forced to rely on more imported food. They are saying they are currently producing a reduced range of products for UK customers, and are seriously concerned that the supply of staple chicken products will be impacted. The sector is currently facing a serious shortage of production operatives and processing staff that are classified as low skilled workers in Home Office terms but play an incredibly important role in keeping food supply moving and feeding the nation at all times.īritish Poultry Council Chief Executive, Richard Griffiths, said: “ Members are telling us that many have been forced to cut back weekly chicken production by 5-10%, all year-round turkey production by 10% and estimate Christmas turkey production to be cut down by a 20%.
The alarming number of gaps is continuing to grow due to the effects of Brexit and compounded by a Government that continually acts against the best interests of British food producers. The British poultry meat industry is facing a significant shortage of workers across farming and processing with businesses reporting an average vacancy rate of over 16% of their total workforce. Labour crisis will lead to less British food being produced and a two-tier food system warns the British Poultry Council.
0 kommentar(er)
