NFU Horticulture and Potatoes Board Chairman, Ali Capper, explains the NFU's asks around seasonal labour, shares recent lobbying opportunities and explains the importance of responding to the Red Tractor Fresh Produce Standards consultation.
Since the last newsletter, the NFU has analysed the information from its largest ever membership consultation on post-Brexit farming and NFU Council has met to debate and agree upon the NFU’s vision following these results. The policy paper outlining this vision can be found on the NFU’s website (you will need to login to view).
For the horticulture and potatoes team, access to labour continues to be (and has long been) an issue of paramount importance, even pre-Brexit. But it is becoming increasingly clear that this is not just some abstract issue that may or may not hit the industry in a few years’ time. This is a problem being experienced now.
The latest NFU Labour Providers’ Survey is providing strong evidence that that the industry is currently experiencing real and increasingly acute problems in recruiting seasonal labour to the point where 47% of labour providers now consider the supply of labour to be inadequate to meet demand. This is a problem that needs immediate action.
That is why the NFU is asking for:
Government to trial a 'substantial' fixed-term work permit scheme for seasonal agricultural workers targeting non-EU workers during 2017.
Assurance that EU workers already in positions have right of residency in the UK and that they will have right to leave and return to their home member state.
Government to commit to holding further discussions on permanent labour and seasonal labour for the medium to long term.
AHDB and government to provide significant investment in innovation, productive technology, robotics, automation and mechanisation, and to support science funding for research and development.
Also, in the longer term, working with the education system provide the relevant technical skills needed for the industry.
The NFU is raising these issues across the political and public platforms.
For example, you may have noticed heightened press activity around labour issues such as the article in the Guardian a couple of weeks ago.
Furthermore, there are a number of imminent meetings that provide the opportunity to express the NFU’s concerns and offer our proposed solutions to government. For example, I am meeting representatives of the Home Office with the NFU on 1st November to discuss labour availability concerns and impress the importance of swift and decisive action on enabling the industry to have a scheme that gives us access to the labour we require to survive.
I am also delighted to have been asked to speak at the newly re-instated All Party Parliamentary Fruit Group’s inaugural meeting on 31st October where my focus will be on Brexit, labour and National Living Wage. Similarly, I would actively encourage growers to take every opportunity they can get to speak with their local MPs and mirror these messages: talk about the issues that they are experiencing in their businesses and explain why access to seasonal labour is so vital.
Finally, moving away from the Brexit implications and looking a little closer to home, the Red Tractor Fresh produce standards are updated every three years and a consultation is now open on the proposed changes to come into effect in 2017. Arguably, the fresh produce scheme is already way ahead of some of the other sector standards but there is always pressure to strengthen them further to ensure the Red Tractor brand is valued by customers. It’s up to you to decide whether the proposed changes do this, or whether they are starting to move beyond the original focus on food safety. I’d encourage you to have a look at the proposed changes and respond to the consultation.