NFU frustrated at government seasonal worker claims
© Tim Scrivener The NFU has rejected government claims that vacancies on the Seasonal Workers Pilot scheme mean Britain does not need overseas labour.
The union acknowledged that there were a number of visas left in this year’s 30,000 allocation under the pilot. However, there was a key discrepancy between figures the government was using and the uptake seen through scheme operators.
See also: ELM does not do enough for environment, says top adviser
NFU horticulture adviser Lee Abbey said the government suggested just 22,000 visas had been issued. But Mr Abbey said scheme operators were reporting 90% of vacancies had been filled.
He added that the remaining spaces would be filled by the end of the year. Mr Abbey said it was frustrating and unfair that government officials appeared to be using the lower figure against the industry.
He added that the uptake rate had been extraordinary in challenging circumstances.
“The government’s decision to continue the scheme into 2021 was made late, with the announcement only released on 22 December last year,” Mr Abbey said.
The situation was then made worse by a lengthy process to appoint two additional scheme operators, which meant half the visas couldn’t be issued until June.
In July, 34% of seasonal farmworker roles were left unfilled, the lowest level seen since the NFU began keeping records, Mr Abbey pointed out.
And he warned of a worsening situation because there was a steady flow of settled status workers returning home in the wake of Brexit.
“With limits on seasonal workers to replace them, the situation will become more and more difficult for growers in the UK,” Mr Abbey said.
Demand for seasonal workers will undoubtedly increase in the coming years, making it crucial for a recruitment scheme to be expanded and made permanent, he said.
Contact labour providers
The NFU has urged any businesses still needing to bring in workers this year, to contact the only two labour providers with remaining availability:
The NFU pointed out that once a visa had been allocated, a worker had up to six months to work on UK farms.
In the meantime the NFU urged businesses to help press the case for seasonal worker recruitment. It suggested growers should contact the scheme operators to set out their needs, so that the level of demand could be assessed.
As well as Fruitful Jobs and AG Recruitment, the other operators are:
And the union called on farmers and growers to highlight the issues with their MPs using a standard letter that can be found on the NFU website.
Scotland survey
NFU Scotland has called on farmers to complete a survey on the labour crisis.
Responses to the short survey will help the union put evidence about the impact of the post-Brexit policy to the government ahead of a deadline next week.
Policy manager David Michie said: “The shortfall in both permanent and seasonal workers across Scottish agriculture is at crisis level.
“A recent survey has already identified that, for our horticultural members, seasonal staffing levels are 20% below where they need to be. We are also hearing, on a daily basis, problems being encountered on pig, poultry and dairy farms in securing permanent staff.”
Mr Michie added: “By creating this week-long short-life survey, that will take only minutes to complete, we aim to provide a robust response to a UK government call for evidence that closes at the end of next week.”
The survey, which will take less than five minutes to complete, is on the NFUS website