The poultry industry has welcomed a government pledge to make an additional 2,000 Seasonal Worker visas available for this year – but insisted more visas may be needed in the run-up to the busy Christmas period.
The government announced in its Food Strategy that the 2,000 visas would be taken out of 10,000 additional visas for horticulture under the Seasonal Worker visa programme.
The NFU welcomed the announcement, but said it was disappointed that the visas for the poultry sector were being taken out of the allowance for the horticulture industry, which had demonstrated an urgent need for more visas for workers to pick and pack fruit and veg crops.
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In addition, the union pointed out that 2,000 visas for the poultry sector were down from last year. The government announced 5,500 visas for poultry businesses in late September 2021, which left little time to train and recruit foreign workers to help plug labour shortages in slaughterhouses and on farms.
NFU Poultry Board chairman James Mottershead said: “It’s a good start, but we’re disappointed that the 2,000 visas are being allocated from an already allocated source [horticulture].
“The 2,000 visas that have been granted falls short of the 5,500 the government gave to the poultry sector last year.
“We would expect further visas to be required, and we would like the government to grant us these if we can prove that we need them.”
Placing poults
Mr Mottershead added that turkey farmers were already placing poults in sheds and on the ground, and it would have been better if the government had made its announcement even earlier.
“We also still don’t understand how the visa scheme will work, who it will be available for and when,” he said.
Hertfordshire broiler farmer Tom Wornham, a former NFU Poultry Board chairman, said: “I encourage government to support our sector and trust the poultry sector is able to continue to build a robust relationship with government in order that farmers continue to supply excellent food at an excellent price to consumers.”
The remaining 8,000 additional visas will stay with the horticulture sector. In total, 40,000 temporary work visas will be made available this year for seasonal workers in the food and farming sector.
The Association of Independent Meat Suppliers said the government should introduce the poultry visa extension immediately to enable poultry businesses to recruit and train staff for the busy summer period as well as for the run-up to Christmas.
“Furthermore, we would like the government to remove the need for businesses to use their appointed labour providers and allow businesses to make their own staffing arrangements at a most affordable cost,” it added.
‘Big win’
The British Poultry Council (BPC) described the announcement of an additional 2,000 places as a “big win” for the poultry sector.
BPC chairman Richard Griffiths said: “Poultry makes up half the meat the nation eats. Labour shortages, driven by the effects of Brexit and compounded by factors like the pandemic, have demonstrated the importance of adopting realistic policies that enable British businesses to drive productivity, create good jobs and keep food moving to strengthen food security in a thriving country post-Brexit.
“The visa scheme, combined with a review into labour challenges plaguing the food and farming sector, will play a meaningful role in ensuring certainty in our workforce in peak periods to guarantee the robustness of our supply chains.”
