Migrant worker report slammed
Any barrier to non-uk nationals coming to work in Scotland before or after Brexit would cause considerable disruption to the entire agriculture and food supply chain – and could see the demise of Scotland’s berry industry.
That was the warning given yesterday on the publication of the UK government’s migration advisory committee report which, according to NFU Scotland, failed to recognise the vital role played by such workers in delivering Scottish produce from field to fork.
Condemning the committee’s views on “low skill” workers, NFU Scotland president Andrew Mc Cornick said that that the committee had not heeded strong evidence on the Scottish situation. He said: “Saying that employers
need to improve pay and conditions to compete for workers is not straightforward – the problems of attracting and training enough suitable UK workers is long-standing and the work is simply not as appealing to many people.”
And the government was warned that their plans could place the future of the country’s berry industry in jeopardy by Nick Marston, chairman of British Summer Fruits.
The committee’s description of the horticultural sector as being a “small, low-wage and low-productivity” industry completely missed the point, according to Marston.
“The UK soft fruit industry is highly significant with a farm-gate turnover of £650 million per annum, employing some 3,000 permanent staff, as well as 29,000 seasonal employees, making significant contributions to the rural economy and to the exchequer in the form of tax and national insurance,” he said.
He also criticised the report’s assertion that the disappearance of UK horticulture would lead to “modestly higher prices” for consumers: “This again misses the point that home produced fresh produce is infinitely better for the environment than imported product, due to the shortest possible supply chain and incurring far fewer food miles.”