‘It will take more than temporary visas to get retail fleets motoring’

Government measures to address the driver shortage which has affected retailers for months now, leading to gaps on shelves and raising the prospect of a challenging Christmas trading period, look unlikely to make much difference in the short term. 

That’s partly because the 5,000 temporary visas on offer for fuel tanker and food lorry drivers will be nowhere near enough to plug the huge labour gap in UK supply chains, estimated to be at least 90,000 drivers.

But it’s also because the UK is competing with other countries for drivers and, as a result of Brexit, has become a less appealing place for them to work. Reams of associated red tape, coupled with a feeling that they are less welcome here than in mainland Europe, has put many workers off the idea of returning to the UK.

Driver shortage is Europe-wide

Across the EU, according to data from global logistics consultancy Transport Intelligence, 400,000 more drivers are needed. In Poland, for instance, from where many people once came to the UK to work, there is a shortage of almost 124,000 drivers. In Germany, the figure stands at between 45,000 and 60,000.

In that context, many drivers – or would-be drivers – will feel no need to cross the Channel to the UK. That was the message from Marco Digioia, head of the European Road Haulers Association, over the weekend.

He told the Observer: “There is a driver shortage across Europe. I am not sure how many would want to go to the UK.”

He maintained that drivers’ pay in Europe is generally higher than in the UK and that working conditions there have improved.

While the driver shortage cannot be blamed solely on Brexit – Covid and longstanding issues such as unappealing working conditions have played a part – there is no question that the UK’s exit from the EU has exacerbated problems.

Digioia said: “Tempting European drivers back to the UK when they also have to face the reality of customs and border checks, all the uncertainties of Brexit… We have to be realistic.” On the continent, he pointed out, “there’s a level playing field and none of the Brexit-related hassle”.

So, from a purely practical perspective, the odds look stacked against a convoy of drivers heading for Dover – a place some of them will know well having been stranded there for days last December when France imposed Covid travel restrictions.

5,000 visas won’t solve the problem

Apart from anything else, the provision of 5,000 visas for food and fuel truck drivers underplays the scale of the problem. 

According to the BRC, “supermarkets alone have estimated they need at least 15,000 HGV drivers for their businesses to be able to operate at full capacity ahead of Christmas and avoid disruption or availability issues”. 

And what about the transport of goods from retailers reliant on more discretionary spending? They face being left in the lurch during retail’s golden quarter.

Aside from the practicalities, you have to wonder whether many drivers might also simply feel they don’t want to work in a country where they may feel unwelcome. 

The grudging nature of the government proposals only adds to that perception. Visas would be valid until December 24, and drivers would then be expected to motor off into the sunset. Happy Christmas. Thank you and good night.

The government is right about one thing – the need to make driving a more appealing career. Unsocial working conditions, such as lack of access to toilets and places to sleep, put off many at present. Unless such issues are addressed then all the sign-on fees in the world won’t solve the longer-term problem.

In the immediate term, if the BRC is right, as it argued last week, that there were just 10 days left to “save Christmas”, then it looks as if a bleak midwinter may lie in store for many retailers. 

The biggest will be best placed to cope with the disruption. For small and mid-sized retailers, the festive spirit could be in short supply.