SIR, – Before Brexit, I was truly someone in the in-between camp. Trying to evaluate the pros and cons of ‘should I stay or should I go’, and could see huge pitfalls and benefits on both sides.
As a labour provider, post Brexit, I am gravely concerned for our horticultural industry, particularly soft fruit, salads and vegetables where labour requirement is so high, with no mechanisation anywhere near being a realistic proposition.
HOPS is already experiencing difficulties in recruiting the calibre of staff that we did when SAWS (Seasonal agricultural workers scheme) was in operation.
The young, articulate, efficient, English speaking workers have already migrated to other industries such as hospitality and catering, and we are very much heading the same way with seasonal workers as we did with the A8s with diminishing quality, reliability and efficiency.
The difference this time is there is no succession planning, and any incumbent government understandably would not have an appetite for another scheme that could be construed as more immigration. Especially when it considers that there are plenty of ‘bums on seats’ to do the jobs, irrelevant of what quality that workforce may be.
We have some considerable challenges to meet in two or three seasons’ time – primarily where is our workforce going to come from?
I can tell you, it’s not from the domestic unemployed, the elephant in the room when having discussions with the DWP about this subject is that lazy people will remain lazy people and, more so, that having 1000 unemployed in Hull (unemployment above 8%) that would be willing to work and earn good money realistically cannot commute to a farm in Kent or Cornwall, and if they did and chose to live in seasonal accommodation caravans away from family and friends, how would they integrate into a site of maybe 200 Eastern Europeans.
It is vital that as an industry we unite and lobby for a new scheme as soon as possible, but I suspect our industry is well down on the ‘to do’ list, and we may only just start to move up that list when we cannot pick all of the strawberries for Wimbledon, Brussels sprouts for Christmas or salad leaves for Big Macs


John Hardman
director
HOPS Labour Solutions