Why is there a shortage of truckers in the UK?

As the super-percadistas and gas station owners had anticipated, the lack of truckers resulted in a stock shortage and “the UK government has failed to address the workforce issues that may arise with Brexit“David Henig, analyst at the European Center for International Political Economy, told EuroNews.

“The companies were reluctant to step in and say what was going to happen. Even when they did, they didn’t want to go too far. The government tended to say ‘it’s just’ the fear project. “, they will adapt well. It won’t be a problem, ”he recalled.

But the problem made itself felt.

While oil companies such as Shell or ExxonMobil have ensured that UK refineries have enough naphtha to supply the public the British government has asked the people not to store fuel. None of this prevented fights from taking place at gas stations or missing the few reserves at these outlets.

According to the EuroNews site, some logistics companies have set up shop in European Union countries where trucker wages are low – or even in Turkey, which is not part of the regional bloc as it tries to enter it. For years. with the sole objective of reducing expenses and increasing your profits.

“Some companies set up offices in Poland, Turkey or any other country with the lowest wages and then they put the truckers to work in Holland or Europe but paid with their own country’s wages instead of following the law where you have to pay a German truck driver according to German wages“said Ron Van Lingen, former owner of a business in the sector.

The solution to the shortage of personnel in the freight transport sector, the specialists explained, lies not only in negotiations for better wages and employment conditions, but also in the flexibility of governments like the United Kingdom to allow entry of workers who wish to fill these vacancies.