Brexit and national living wage a ‘double whammy’ for farmers

Berry farmers fear Brexit will limit availability of workers while living wage pushes up costs

Brexit and the living wage could deal a serious double blow to the berry farming industry.

The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) of Scotland said that the vote to leave the EU could have an impact on the availability of seasonal workers.

It also said farmers were finding it increasingly difficult to recover the costs of paying higher wages when selling their fruit.

James Porter, NFU Scotland’s horticulture working group chairman, said: “Growers and their employees need assurances as soon as possible that the seasonal agricultural workers scheme, or equivalent, will be reinstated after Brexit.

“Without it, the impact on soft fruit and vegetable sectors in Scotland and the rest of the UK will be devastating.

“In terms of the NLW (national living wage), we have experienced an unprecedented minimum wage rise of 11.3% this year once holiday pay and employers’ National Insurance is taken into account.

“As growers we should all be keen to see our employees take home a good wage for their hard work, but we have no means of recovering this kind of increase at the point of sale.

“I met representatives from the Low Pay Commission on 6 July along with Grampian Growers to express our concerns.

“Our message was simply that year-on-year rises in wages like this are unsustainable, and will have a serious long-term impact on soft fruit and vegetable production in the UK.”

The news comes as growers said they had had a successful year, despite the wet summer.

Ross Mitchell, of Laurencekirk, said: “Growing wise it has been as steady and normal as you could get, really.

“The market, though, has been very strong, with fruit sales continuing to rise year-on-year.

“Whether it’s enough to combat the ongoing NLW increase is yet to be seen.”

Our message wassimply that year-onyearrisesin wages like this are unsustainable. JAMES PORTER NFU SCOTLAND