The departure of EU motorists leaves UK pilots facing a shortage of drivers

The departure of EU lorry drivers from the UK since Brexit has left British travel and operations in the face of a severe shortage of workers and a crisis stemming from industrial and retail sales, the group warned.

The UK’s leading corporations and corporations have said that unless they take immediate action to curb the decline, the problems seen in these companies could be made public by the end of the summer.

Although the sector has been enduring a shortage of motorists over the past few decades, this has increased significantly due to the “triple” Bakuman finalization of employment in the EU, the increase in driving tests conducted as a result of Covid-19 and changes in employment taxes that have increased the departure of EU drivers.

“Britain has been without a driver for years, but the problem is now serious. In the 10 years of inspiring in this regard we have never seen members as anxious as they are now, “said Alex Veitch, logistics manager at Logistics UK, a former trade organization Freight Transport Association.

The cancellation of nearly 28,000 HGV pilot tests as a result of the Covid-19 regulation has also halted further attempts to interview drivers among a group of 300,000 qualified drivers in the UK.

Rod McKenzie, general manager of public policy and public affairs at the Road Haulage Association, said the companies are now facing a severe storm. “For non-industrialized people this is a peaceful hurricane but it can be a tornado for lack of visibility, increasing tensions and tensions between vendors and pilots,” he said.

Haulage company officials say the closure of the Covid-19 closure, which posed a serious threat to retailers’ search, construction and hospitality, has revealed a problem that has been kept secret from the search for the epidemic.

Paul Day, managing director of Turners Soham Ltd, a large 2,300 lorry truck company in Cambridgeshire with a crew of about 40% in eastern Europe, says cracks are already emerging.

“After three months, the goods will not arrive. Instead, it is already happening, there are a lot of goods that have not been covered here,” he said, referring to one major retailer and wholesale supplier who failed to return 30 goods last week.

Lee Juniper, operations manager at FreshLinc, another UK general manager with a pool of about 700 cars said the shortage was real and now forced to pay an hourly wage of 10 to 30% depending on the region and type of travel.

In the 10 years of inspiring on this issue we have not seen the members as affected as they are now

“We can’t find enough drivers to drive our cars and it is difficult every day to hide the volumes. It is difficult for us to always ship goods on time and for the customer list, ”he said.

Last month the Grocer magazine, a commercial, too he added the grossers were returning goods to other outlets in Spar in the middle of the midlands where the shortage of drivers was particularly noticeable.

Driver failure is the government’s first test move to Brexit Policies that make it possible for highly skilled immigrants to recruit foreign HGV drivers, a profession that is not recognized as qualified to have a work permit.

Kieran Smith, chief executive of Driver Require, a recruitment agency, said their study found that 12,000-15,000 EU drivers had already returned, either because of the Covid-19 epidemic and possibly because of tax evasion.

Most were self-employed, working as a small company to reduce taxes, but this has been suspended following their claims. IR35 redesign and HM Revenue & Customs, which requires all $ 10m or $ 50m employees to pay all taxes and insurance on their drivers.

Despite being welcomed by these companies, the change adds to the displacement of EU operators who would not accept a reduction in revenues resulting from frequent taxation.

“The first move was run by Covid, but we think another 5,000-10,000 have left now because of the IR35. Most did not pay the correct corporate taxes, but even with high fees, it is not enough to get the same amount,” he said.

Companies and corporations have strongly requested that HGV operators be appointed a list of essential services but the government has made it clear it does not do this, saying businesses should “change” after the Brexit immigration government.

Day, Turners bosses, who have been employed in the EU since 2005 and have their own UK driver training program, said this was the easiest solution because of the six-month shortage of recruiting and training for UK drivers and the low availability of candidates. .

“The government must take action before things can happen. If the government does not change its mind on the matter, it will put 15 to 20% on shipping costs in the UK. Is this what the UK plc is prepared for? ”He said.

Veitch said the government should do more to reconsider its position on the UK-based workforce to reduce the shortage of EU operators, including suspending the pilot tests and providing funding to pay for the cost of driving training.

The government has launched a campaign to recruit more 300 observers, and DVSA, testing agency, now taking 4,000 tests each week.

Across the region, however, the Financial Times has raised serious doubts that the search for home-based workers could fill vacancies in the short term, while long-term it is unknown whether UK workers will find a business that has long-term and labor-intensive work, even paid – did not go up.

Smith, of Driver Require, added that data analysis from the Office for National Statistics has shown a “significant decline” over the past 20 years the number of qualified HGV operators living in companies where about one-third of 300,000 drivers are over the age of 55 and retire.

“We have a team of more than 150,000 recruiting drivers and behind the group there are fewer staff members. There is not much we can do soon other than empower ourselves to achieve,” he said.