By our Reporter
To solve shortages experienced in haulage and poultry industry,the British government has decided to issue temporary visas for 5,000 foreign truck drivers and 5,500 poultry workers as a short-term fix.
This decision was to avert major disruption for retailers in the run-up to Christmas, business leaders have warned.
Long lines of vehicles formed at petrol stations for a second day on Saturday as motorists waited in line, some for hours, to fill up with fuel after oil firms reported a lack of drivers was causing transport problems from refineries to forecourts, leading some operators to ration supplies and others to close gas stations.
The fuel supply issues come on the back of warnings from the retail industry that unless the driver shortage was sorted out there would be major problems ahead of the busy festive shopping period.
The UK’s Road Haulage Association (RHA) says Britain is facing a shortage of some 100,000 drivers, a result of workers leaving the industry, Brexit and the pandemic, which put a stop to driver training and testing for about a year.
Under the government’s plans, 5,000 heavy goods vehicle (HGV) drivers would be able to come to Britain under temporary visas, while another 5,500 visas would be issued to poultry workers “to avoid any potential further pressures on the food industry”.
These short-term visas, which the government had previously rejected introducing despite calls from retail and logistics companies, will expire on Dec. 24.
Additionally, up to 4,000 people will be trained as new truck drivers, letters will be sent out to nearly a million drivers with HGV licences to entice them back to the industry, and ministry of defence examiners will be drafted in to speed up the testing process.