United Kingdom decided to issue 5,000 temporary visas for foreign truck drivers. The decision was taken to temporarily fix a serious labour shortage which started to affect the retailers while preparing for Christmas. Business leaders warned that short-term fixes would not solve the issue of labour shortage.
Oil firms reported that they were facing unavailability of truck drivers which caused transportation issues. They were unable to transport oil and other fuels from refineries to gas stations. This caused long lines of cars and other vehicles at the petrol stations for two days in a row. Operators started to ration supplies to the closest gas stations as they faced transportation issues.
The issue of shortage in fuel supply would cause major problems in the period of festive shopping due to Christmas. Transport Minister Grant Shapps said in a statement that the Christmas of 2021 was very important for all of the people in United Kingdom as it had been a difficult year for everyone.
According to the Road Haulage Association (RHA) England was facing a shortage of hundred thousand drivers. Brexit and the pandemic had caused the driver training and testing in the country in the past year which resulted in workers leaving United Kingdom.
UK government said that the temporary visas were a short-term solution to let them hire more British drivers with better pay and working conditions. According to the government’s plan, 5,000 foreign heavy goods vehicle (HGV) drivers and 5,000 poultry workers would be brought to England to avoid pressure on the food industry.
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