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UK - Food & Supplies Shortages??

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  1. #11

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    TBH if Brexit or a shortage of Truck drivers has caused shortages of Nandos, KFC and McDonalds milkshakes that's no bad thing.

    Indecently, if the lack of truck drivers is down to poor pay/conditions how come KFC and McDonalds don't have staffing issues?


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  3. #13

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    Original Post Deleted
    That’s about as predictable as Sage telling us in 2024 when mask wearing is repealed ‘I told you so’

    I don’t see many Brexiteers on here (me included) gloating as each new trade deal is signed and as each new set of trade statistics vindicate the vote. Could we have second guessed it would be as good as it has been so far? Nope.

    Will the anti brigade continue to try to point should never have left at every opportunity? Of course they will

  4. #14

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    Fake news. I went to three of my local supermarkets, I got everything I normally buy. The only time I experienced shortages was during peak covid.


  5. #15

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    Quote Originally Posted by Pauljoecoe:
    Indecently, if the lack of truck drivers is down to poor pay/conditions how come KFC and McDonalds don't have staffing issues?
    It costs about 10 mins to trains someone to say 'would you like fries with that' and pays about £18K per year with shifts etc. There is usually one very close to where you live

    It costs about £2000 pounds and 10 weeks to train as a HGV driver and pays about £20K per year as a new driver. often with unsociable hours.

  6. #16

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    Quote Originally Posted by East_coast:
    It costs about 10 mins to trains someone to say 'would you like fries with that' and pays about £18K per year with shifts etc. There is usually one very close to where you live

    It costs about £2000 pounds and 10 weeks to train as a HGV driver and pays about £20K per year as a new driver. often with unsociable hours.
    OK - but that means there must be a plentiful supply of workers, which doesn't fit in with the mantra that no one wants to do low paid and menial jobs anymore. I am aware that a lot of workers in these type of establishments will be students, young people just transitioning to 'better' work but a lot are ethnic minorities.

  7. #17

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    Quote Originally Posted by Pauljoecoe:
    OK - but that means there must be a plentiful supply of workers, which doesn't fit in with the mantra that no one wants to do low paid and menial jobs anymore. I am aware that a lot of workers in these type of establishments will be students, young people just transitioning to 'better' work but a lot are ethnic minorities.
    There is not a plentiful supply. Entry level jobs in construction, maintenance are seeing 10% plus increases as the fight for a more finite pool of labor.

    https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentand...ain/august2021

    The UK gov could open the doors to EU truck drivers giving them visa free rights to work in the UK. It isn't. It would lower delivery delivery costs in the short term but also lower GDP and tax revenue as a Lithuanian driver in the UK for 4 months would likely be very tax efficient and not spend much in the local economy.

    I suspect after 20+ years of having cheapish labor there is a lot of simple efficiency gains the private sector can make. I could be wrong but I'd guess in 5 years time the UK labor productivity gap compared to other developed countries will close significantly

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  9. #19

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    Original Post Deleted
    I agree it is an argument full of holes. I did add the disclaimers it was a guess and I could be wrong. It is a guess and I could be very wrong. But the UK have traditionally had a much more flexible labor market than its EU peers which may have facilitated the reliance on labor (lowish cost) to increase output in the short term rather than investing in efficiency as labor is easy to get rid of. With less flexible labor markets there is a greater need to invest in efficiency. Obviously conversely the more flexible labor markets should ensure non-productive people can more easily move to be more productive. Again wild speculation.

    Last edited by East_coast; 26-08-2021 at 06:28 PM.

  10. #20

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    Quote Originally Posted by East_coast:
    There is not a plentiful supply. Entry level jobs in construction, maintenance are seeing 10% plus increases as the fight for a more finite pool of labor.

    https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentand...ain/august2021

    The UK gov could open the doors to EU truck drivers giving them visa free rights to work in the UK. It isn't. It would lower delivery delivery costs in the short term but also lower GDP and tax revenue as a Lithuanian driver in the UK for 4 months would likely be very tax efficient and not spend much in the local economy.

    I suspect after 20+ years of having cheapish labor there is a lot of simple efficiency gains the private sector can make. I could be wrong but I'd guess in 5 years time the UK labor productivity gap compared to other developed countries will close significantly

    Well it seems there is in McDonalds which you gave reasons for, and that was what I was referring to.

    When it comes down to it, it's about pay and conditions. Pay enough and they will come. Yes it may take a while in jobs that need training like HGV but offer free training and a good wage and you'll find the candidates.

    What UK citizens need to accept is they can't have rock bottom prices on food and other goods, free next day delivery etc etc. There are lots of reasons for this 'crisis'. Immigrants leaving due to Brexit and also due to Covid. Changes in the way we shop. An aging population - more people retiring on good pensions with less young people coming through to fill the gaps. Education feeding young people into the wrong industries etc etc.
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