(Recasts with government and industry statements)
By David Milliken
LONDON, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Britain's government has rejected
calls from retail and logistics companies to temporarily ease
post-Brexit immigration rules which they say are contributing to
a shortage of truck drivers and acute supply chain disruption.
Fast food chains McDonald's, KFC, and
Nando's, as well as bakery chain Greggs, have all faced
disruption this week as suppliers struggled to deliver to them.
Trade body Logistics UK said Britain currently had a
shortage of 90,000 truck drivers, and on Aug. 22 it and the
British Retail Consortium asked the government to grant
temporary visas to truck drivers from the European Union.
Since Jan. 1, most EU citizens planning to work in Britain
need visas which are typically only available for higher-paid
jobs than those in the logistics and hospitality sectors.
Britain's business ministry said on Saturday it did not
expect these visa rules to change.
"We want to see employers make long-term investments in the
UK domestic workforce instead of relying on labour from abroad,"
a government spokesperson said.
The Times newspaper had reported earlier on Saturday that
the government was considering bringing forward a review of visa
rules to tackle the shortage.
Alex Veitch, general manager for public policy at Logistics
UK, said he was disappointed by the government's decision as it
could take until early next year to work through a backlog of
driving tests that had built up during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The industry needs drivers now," he said. "Logistics UK is
frustrated with the government's decision to reject the
logistics industry's call for temporary visas to be made
available for EU heavy goods vehicle drivers as a short-term
solution while new domestic drivers are recruited, trained and
tested."
(Additional reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing
by Michael Perry and Christina Fincher)