Agricultural worker labour shortages

The Office for National Statistics’ Labour Force Survey suggests that in 2016 27,000 people from other EU member states worked in UK agriculture in 2016, and 116,000 EU nationals worked in the UK’s food manufacturing sector. However, in peak seasons, UK agriculture relies on an additional temporary workforce of up to 75,000 people to work mainly harvesting crops, and 98% of the temporary workforce is recruited from elsewhere in the EU.  

Brexit and uncertainty about the status of EU migrants in the UK, plus the fall in the pound against the euro, has meant that there is already a shortfall in workers of approximately 20%. A recent BBC survey of members of the British Summer Fruits and the British Leafy Salads Association revealed that one in five growers have fewer pickers than needed. This means that production of some crops is at risk. In December 2016 the NFU warned that some crops might not be able to be harvested and, more recently, soft fruit growers have also raised concerns. The NFU is now calling for the return of The Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme.

After the Second World War the government introduced a Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme to address post-war labour shortages. To begin with it was an exchange programme but over time turned into a means by which fruit and vegetable growers in the UK could employ migrant workers from Bulgaria and Romania to do short-term agricultural work. However, the scheme ended in 2013 because restrictions on the free movement rights of Bulgarian and Romanian citizens were lifted, and subsequent governments have proceeded on the basis that there are enough workers within the EU and UK work forces to meet the needs of the agriculture and horticulture sectors.

Due to the agriculture and horticulture sectors’ concerns over potential labour shortages once EU free movement law no longer applies in the UK, the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee are considering whether a new Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme ought to be put in place to avoid a recruitment crisis when the UK exits the EU.

The Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme was debated on 6th July 2017 in Westminster Hall, and a transcript of the debate can be found here https://www.theyworkforyou.com/whall/?id=2017-07-06a.192.0

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