British pig farmers want Prime Minister Boris Johnson to lift strict immigration rules for butchers before the pork sector collapses.
A combination of Brexit and COVID-19 have resulted in a number of east European workers from abattoirs and meat processors leaving a back log of pigs unprocessed.
The National Farmers Union has cautioned that up to 150,000 pigs could be culled. Some farmers have already started culling pigs as once they pass the size threshold they become more difficult to handle and abattoirs impose financial penalties.
Industries across the UK have warned in recent months that they are having serious problems maintaining operations with the labour shortages across farms and factories.
Farmers are now urging the Prime Minister to ease post-Brexit immigration rules to allow European butchers to enter Britain without needing to first pass a comprehensive English language test.
Recently Mr Johnson told businesses they needed to wean themselves off the “drug” of cheap migrant labour and invest in technology and higher salaries to recruit enough British workers.
LSL News.