Labour gap hinders horticulture sector

Philip Hudson, chief horticultural adviser said at the NFU conference, that indications showed the availability of labour would continue to be under pressure.

The NFU conducted two surveys, which will be sent to the Home Office disclosing the difficulties that growers will face as a result of this expected shortfall and will continue to press for an increase in the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Sheme (SAWS) quota to fill the labour gap.

The SAWS allows farmers and growers in the UK to recruit overseas workers to undertake work that is both seasonal and agricultural.

Mr Hudson called for an increase on the number of people able to participate in the scheme each year because of the constant problems the industry faces in attracting seasonal labour.

Although the NFU will also continue to lobby for the dismantling of the Agricultural Wages Board, it is supporting proposals to modernise it to allow mutual negotiations between employers and employees, and enable it to set salaried hours and ‘fair’ piece rates.

The labour gap was one of the six issues the NFU horticulture team is to prioritise over the next 12 months, the others being sustainable pricing, crop protection and plant health, EU regulation and assurance.

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