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On Sunday, it was unclear whether the new visa measures would resolve a crisis that for some had echoes of the chaos that gripped the country in 2000. fuel protest It shook Prime Minister Tony Blair’s government.
“It will be part of a learning process that the UK has to go through,” said David Henig, a London-based British trade policy expert for the European Center for International Political Economy, a research institute. He noted that when the UK operates under EU economic rules, workers can move freely between countries in the bloc.
“We had a high-flow labor economy and we are moving to a static economy,” said Mr. Henig. He added that panic buying of fuel was not unreasonable, especially after some gas stations were found to be empty. He noted that Britons have experienced periodic shortages of goods on supermarket shelves for months.
Numerous industries in Britain have recently complained of delayed deliveries and McDonald’s milkshakes and Roasted Chicken in Nando restaurants that make headlines.
“Everyone knew for a while that there were some shortages,” said Mr. Henig, “so it wasn’t like it had just suddenly appeared.”
Many countries in Europe are experiencing driver shortages, so it’s unclear how many workers will benefit from the quarterly visas unless companies in the UK offer significantly higher wages. “You can make people’s time be worth it, but it won’t be cheap and it won’t be easy,” Mr. Henig said, adding that obtaining a visa requires significant paperwork.
While business groups generally welcomed the government’s move, some expressed doubt that it would be enough. The government’s turnaround comes after UK transport and logistics industries begged MPs to ease visa restrictions for drivers from the European Union. Logistics UK, a trade group, had requested 10,000 seasonal visas for drivers, similar to a scheme for farm workers.
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