Fruit and veg pickers appeal brings in only 112 British workers

Farmers disappointed after just 0.2 per cent of 50,000 applicants are willing to take the jobs on offer

EFFORTS to recruit British fruit and veg pickers have been dealt a blow as it emerged only 112 out of 50,000 applicants have taken up roles.

Thousands who responded to the Government’s appeal for a new land army have dropped out as they have discovered the reality of the eighthour-a-day job picking crops in all weathers potentially miles from home.

From the 50,000 applications to the Alliance of Ethical Labour Providers, one of the main contract suppliers to farms, just 6,000 opted to complete the video interview for a role.

About 900 subsequently then explicitly rejected the roles the Alliance offered, with just 112 taking up the offer of the seasonal job on a UK farm.

According to the Alliance, the main reasons were candidates unable to do the full length of the contract, that the farm was too far away from their home, that they did not want to commute, that they had care responsibilities that prevented full-time work or only wanted part-time work.

The drop-out rate has alarmed farmers as they prepare for the summer picking season to start in earnest next month and comes as the Government has quietly launched its “Pick for Britain” website to help farms recruit the seasonal workers.

“I am quite worried that we have had thousands of people apply but when it comes to the nitty gritty, we will only get tens coming through,” said Greville Richards, managing director of Southern England Farms in west Cornwall.

“If there are good people out there who want to come, then we’ll take them. It’s hard work and it’s long hours but it’s good money. It gets my back up when they say people are coming here on the cheap.

“They do earn their money, they work hard, but what is concerning is that that is putting off a percentage of the British workers. That are finding quite difficult.”

Mr Richards recruited up to 50 seasoned East European workers in February, who have stayed to help through the summer, ensuring that he will have a “mix” of British and foreign workers. He offers a “piece” rate where workers can opt out of a daily pay rate to earn extra per head or per tray.

David Simmonds, managing director of Riviera Produce in Cornwall, expected a “high turnover” as people discovered how tough the job was with 5am starts, working in all weathers and a rate of picking that needed to be cost effective. “We need people who are productive,” he said.

He has 200 East Europeans who have worked through the winter but needs a further 200 British workers who will need to be trained up. “The Government’s ‘Pick for Britain’ initiative is good and we are supportive but it is a very worrying time,” he said.

Britain needs up to 90,000 seasonal workers for the harvest with some farms previously relying on a 90 per cent East European workforce.

Concordia, one of the three companies in the Alliance, has warned prospective recruits: “For health and safety reasons it’s vital that workers are able to commit to the full terms of a contract to limit the number of new arrivals on farms over a picking season.”

Two weeks’ self-isolation before starting the contract is followed by at least two weeks of training before being placed in a team for the duration of the job. “Anyone who can’t work as part of a small team, or for the full length of the placement, increases the risk of infection to all those on the farm.”

G’s Fresh, one of the UK’S biggest salad growers, chartered two planes from Bucharest earlier this month for experienced pickers who can train and support their UK recruits. It expects two thirds of its 2,500 seasonal workers to be British versus 90 per cent East Europeans previously. By targeting local communities, it has recruited 500 British workers and Anthony Gardiner, its marketing director, said:

“We are positive we can get the numbers we need.”