Government defends rules on workers

The UK Government has defended its post-Brexit immigration rules after criticism from meat industry leaders.

Meat processors have warned of shortages of products, including “pigs in blankets” at Christmas time, due to staffing challenges.

Both the Scottish Association of Meat Wholesalers (SAMW) and the British Meat Processors Association (BMPA) have blamed the UK Government’s immigration policies for a lack of staff in abattoirs and meat plants.

BMPA chief executive, Nick Allen, said that on average BMPA members are around 12-13% short on staff, while SAMW executive manager Martin Morgan said the government’s immigration rules were “stifling our industry’s ability to recruit the number of skilled staff we require to meet retail and consumer demand”.

Responding to the concerns, a Home Office spokesman said the government’s points-based immigration system provided for a number of eligible occupations within the meat processing sector.

He added: “We want to see employers make longterm investments in the UK domestic workforce instead of relying on labour from abroad and our Plan for Jobs is helping people across the country retrain, build new skills and get back into work.

“The government encourages all sectors to make employment more attractive to UK domestic workers through offering training, careers options, wage increases and to invest in increased automation technology.”

The Home Office said it had run a £3 million awareness campaign last year for UK employers, to inform them that freedom of movement was ending and they may need to take steps to adapt their recruitment practices.

The Scottish red meat processing sector’s reliance on foreign labour was laid bare in a new report published this week by red meat levy body Quality Meat Scotland.

The report reveals 47% of the staff working at abattoirs and meat processing companies in Scotland hail from outside the UK.

Meanwhile, NFU Scotland has written to the UK Government calling for immediate action to tackle the labour crisis.

The union’s president, Martin Kennedy, said: “I am in no doubt that without action, the current disruption will worsen.”

PRODUCTS: Meat processors have warned of shortages due to staffing challenges.