As of: 09/25/2021 11:16 am
Empty supermarket shelves, petrol stations without petrol – due to a lack of truck drivers, some goods are becoming scarce in Great Britain. Now the government apparently wants to make it easier to issue visas for truckers who left the country after Brexit.
In view of the serious consequences of delivery problems for supplies in the country, the British government is apparently planning to simplify visas for foreign drivers. As several British media reported unanimously, Prime Minister Boris Johnson wants to temporarily exempt truck drivers from the strict Brexit visa rules. According to this, around 5000 drivers are to be recruited at short notice. But there should be an upper limit. Until now, Johnson had strictly rejected such visa exemptions, although logistics companies and retailers have been demanding it for months.
Officially, a government spokeswoman said they were looking at “temporary measures to prevent immediate problems. But any action we take will be strictly limited in time.”
100,000 truckers are missing
According to the reports, the trigger for the change of heart was problems with gasoline deliveries at filling stations. “Johnson is completely fed up with the bad headlines and wants it to be resolved, he no longer cares about visa rules,” the Financial Times quoted an “ally” of the prime minister as saying.
The Road Haulage Association estimates that there is a shortage of around 100,000 truck drivers in the UK. That is why there were bottlenecks and empty supermarket shelves in many places. This is mainly due to the fact that many truckers returned to the European continent after Brexit. In addition, the corona pandemic had hindered the training and tests of new drivers. Since Brexit, EU citizens moving to the UK for work have had to get expensive visas. Other industries, such as meat manufacturers, also complain of a blatant shortage of skilled workers.
Gas stations are running out of fuel
The energy companies BP and Esso were no longer able to supply some petrol stations with fuel due to the lack of drivers. Long queues formed in front of some gas stations after the delivery problems became known. The energy companies BP and Esso closed some petrol stations, while others only offered petrol or diesel. The operator EG Group introduced an upper limit of 30 pounds (35 euros) per customer at the pumps. The government stressed that panic buying was not necessary. “There is no shortage of fuel,” tweeted cabinet member Nadine Dorries.
The issue of fuel is currently limited in many petrol stations.
Image: picture alliance / empics