Low-skill migrants will come for ‘years’
LOW- SKILLED migrants could be allowed to come and work in Britain for ‘years and years’ after we have left the EU, David Davis has warned.
Speaking in Estonia, the Brexit Secretary acknowledged that leaving the EU would not mean an immediate end to low-skilled migration.
Asked about the issue, he told reporters: ‘In the hospitality sector, hotels and restaurants, in the socialcare sector, working in agriculture, it will take time.
‘It will be years and years before we get British citizens to do those jobs. Don’t expect just because we’re changing who makes the decision on the policy, the door will suddenly shut – it won’t.’
Theresa May has vowed to end free movement of labour from the EU as part of the Brexit negotiations, saying the referendum showed that the public want the UK Government to control the numbers coming here.
But Mr Davis’s comments suggest ministers are sympathetic to concerns from business and parts of the public sector, such as the NHS, about the impact of a sudden end to the supply of cheap labour.
Government sources last night played down the comments, pointing out that they matched the message in last month’s White Paper on Brexit. A source said: ‘This is in line with what he has been saying for some time. We will take back control of immigration policy but we do not want to create sudden labour shortages in important sectors.’
The White Paper committed ministers to regaining full control of our borders for the first time in 40 years, saying that the future immigration system will be a matter for Parliament.
But it suggested that moves to slash the number of EU migrants coming to Britain could take several years to complete.
The White Paper said there would be a ‘phased process of implementation to… give businesses and individuals enough time to plan and prepare for these new arrangements’.
Mr Davis spoke as Environment Secretary Andrea Leadsom suggested low-skilled migrants working in agriculture could be replaced by machines in the wake of Brexit.
Mrs Leadsom came under pressure at a National Farmers’ Union conference over concerns that Brexit will cut the number of seasonal workers.
She told farmers: ‘As for seasonal agricultural workers, I have heard loud and clear the vital role they play in many farm businesses, not least in the horticultural sector.
‘But at the same time we mustn’t forget that a key factor behind the vote to leave the EU was to control immigration.
‘So I want to find out what kind of labour you need in food processing as well as farming, while exploring the role that innovation can play in support of this.
‘As I’ve travelled the UK, I’ve seen a whole raft of new technologies that complement the workforce.’
The conference heard that robots could be available in two years’ time to replace seasonal fruit pickers on farms.
Professor Simon Blackmore, head of robotics and automation at the Agriculture Engineering Precision Innovation Centre, said: ‘We have seen that the reduced value of the pound is less attractive to these people, societal animosity towards migrant labour has grown remarkably and the Government may impose restrictions.’
He added: ‘But I realise that with the types of technology we are developing, it is actually the seasonal labour role that we can replace. Robots are good for semi- skilled, highly repetitive tasks.’
‘Don’t expect the door to shut’