The recruitment crisis facing farmers in Angus following the closure of the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme (SAWS) will be raised again with UK Ministers.
The SAWS allowed fruit and vegetable growers to employ migrant workers from Bulgaria and Romania as seasonal employees for up to six months at a time, but the scheme was scrapped in 2013 as the UK government sought to reduce net migration to the UK.
The move has led to a backlash from the agricultural sector as growers live with the reality of not being able to attract sufficient labour.
A motion lodged by Angus Council SNP group leader Lynne Devine, drew attention to the ending of the scheme and the impact it has had on the industry locally, noting the “shortage of pickers from the EU has resulted in fruit and vegetables left to rot in the fields with a significant economic impact.”
Ms Devine said: “Although a two-year pilot Seasonal Agricultural Workers’ Scheme is being proposed, the reality is that this will be for only 2500 non-EU workers for the whole of the UK.
“The fact is that in this area alone, we need 4000 workers annually, and not necessarily for just six months, given that the use of polytunnels have extended the growing season.
“It has at least been understood that there just isn’t the supply of local workers to undertake the harvesting.
“There doesn’t seem to be any clarity about the countries involved in the project, nothing about EU citizens who have proved themselves good workers, and certainly there isn’t a great deal of understanding shown when fruit farmers are being told to increase the usage of agricultural technology to pick fragile fruit.”
Forfar and District Conservative Councillor Braden Davy argued that the recruitment issue was not as a result of brextit: “The issue started long before Brexit, due to an improving economic situation in eastern European nations.”
The motion won support from across the political divide, and Margo Williamson, the local authority’s chief executive, will now write to UK Ministers urging them to urgently agree a new version of the scheme.
