Appeal for harvest workers

The UK Government has launched a new appeal for workers to rally round soft fruit farmers to gather this year’s harvest.

Writing exclusively for The Courier, Defra secretary George Eustice emphasised the importance of fruit growing to Scotland’s economy.

He said: “A large portion of the 185% of growth we have seen in the production of soft fruits in the UK between 1998 and 2018 is thanks to the hard work of growers in areas like Angus.

“We know that many workers are still coming over or making plans to, and we will continue to welcome any EU and non-EU workers who are able to travel over, with work to ensure all visas required for the seasonal workers pilot are processed ongoing. But there is now an opportunity to match and growers with a workforce closer to home.

“We’re calling for those who can commit to this work for the summer to find out more about the opportunities available. With many of the summer jobs students usually rely on in retail and hospitality now looking uncertain and thousands in Scotland on the furloughed wage, there can be a real win-win situation for everyone if those people are able to get on to farms where labour is needed.

“Many people have already visited Pick for Britain, a website we launched in partnership with industry in April to match up available opportunities with local jobseekers as the demand for workers increases.

“In addition, we have been working with industry recruiters as well as local growers and businesses to help them advertise their vacancies on the gov.uk “Find A Job” digital platform, which now has a new page specifically for job seekers to browse opportunities in agricultural work.

“Now is the time to rally around our farmers. We’ve already seen thousands of people signing up to support our farmers and with the peak harvest time expected in a month or so, will need thousands more to harvest Scottish produce for all to enjoy.”