UK must provide temporary ‘safety valve’ for further EU immigration

By William Schomberg

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain is expected to temporarily allow more young people in the European Union to re-enter its labor markets to address the staff shortage faced by many companies, a professional human resources body said on Wednesday.

Many problems predate the coronavirus pandemic and are therefore unlikely to be resolved once the economy returns to a more normal base, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development has said.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson this month vowed to end what he called “the failed old model of low wages, low skills, backed by runaway immigration,” and pledged a high-wage economy and high productivity thanks to Brexit.

But his government has had to offer emergency visas to EU workers to cope with acute shortages of truck drivers, poultry shops and butchers.

The CIPD said the government should allow EU citizens to apply for the UK Youth Mobility Visa, which offers two-year work permits to 18-30 year olds from Australia, Canada, New Zealand. , Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Gerwyn Davies, senior labor market adviser at CIPD, said the organization’s research showed that too many employers in low-wage sectors had focused on lowering their labor costs. work, rather than investing in staff to increase productivity.

“However, changes in business behavior, people management capabilities and investment priorities will take time, time that companies facing severe skills and labor shortages do not. just not now, ”Davies said.

“In response, there is a strong case for an immediate immigration safety valve to address the growing labor supply challenges some employers face.”

The CIPD also called for an overhaul of the government’s apprenticeship tax to make it more flexible and to £ 60m ($ 83m) to fund a business improvement service to help more businesses. to invest in new technologies and training.

($ 1 = 0.7255 pounds)

(Written by William Schomberg, edited by David Milliken)