Labour rules need to be eased to ensure the survival of the agri-food industry in Northern Ireland, according to Claire Sugden.
The independent East Derry MLA explained that fruit, vegetable, mushroom and meat producers are struggling to fill vacancies since post-Brexit immigration rules were brought in in 2021.
She has called on the UK government to act quickly to change the current rules excluding lower-skilled foreign workers from coming to work for adequate periods.
Labour
“Agriculture is Northern Ireland’s biggest industry, supporting hundreds of thousands of people here.
“These industries won’t, however, be able to carry on if they can’t harvest or process their fruit and vegetables or if inadequate numbers of meat processors mean lengthy backlogs or culls,” Sugden said.
The MLA noted that the Seasonal Workers Programme has provided some relief to the sector.
However, she said that it can take weeks or months to train workers who are then forced to leave when the programme ends.
“A review of the Shortage Occupation List is currently underway, but the recommendations aren’t expected until the autumn, after which it will be ultimately up to the Home Office to decide whether to change its immigration rules.
“All of this should have been analysed and foreseen prior to implementing these punitive immigration rules. It has already had an impact on agriculture here and threatens to get even worse in future.
“Our unemployment rate is extremely low, which is good news in many ways. It does, however, mean that industries with vacancies are competing for the same small pool of local workers,” Sugden said.
“Even if local people can be found for these kinds of roles, it will take years to train and recruit them. Automation is also slow to provide solutions.
“The best and quickest way to support our farmers and food producers is to facilitate greater numbers of migrant workers in these industries,” she added.