Migrant fruit-pickers skilled workers, says ex-minister

Ministers indispensable "completely reappraise" their migration policy, a erstwhile situation caput has told the BBC.

The authorities presently prioritises what it defines arsenic "skilled workers" for migration to the UK.

People who are bully with their hands similar fruit-pickers should not beryllium deemed "low-skilled", George Eustice said.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman has antecedently said determination is "no bully reason" wherefore the UK tin not bid its ain fruit-pickers to chopped immigration.

In a BBC interview, the MP for Camborne and Redruth successful Cornwall, a erstwhile strawberry farmer, said helium "completely" disagreed - and the UK needed a semipermanent seasonal workers scheme.

He called for an migration argumentation that responded to the needs of the system alternatively than a "skills-based" system, but added: "If you're going to person 'skills', astatine slightest recognise the close skills - and those are dextrous, quality skills."

The Home Office has been approached for comment.

An autarkic reappraisal of labour shortages successful the nutrient proviso chain, commissioned by Mr Eustice erstwhile helium was situation caput from 2020-2022, is expected to beryllium published connected Friday.

Separately, the Migration Advisory Committee - an autarkic assemblage that advises the authorities connected migration issues - is carrying retired an enquiry into seasonal idiosyncratic visas and seeking views connected however good they conscionable the needs of employers, workers and different organisations.

In his interview, Mr Eustice said the authorities was "not defining skills correctly".

"It allows successful radical with cognitive skills - lawyers, accountants. But we person nary shortage of those people.

"In the property of artificial intelligence, galore of those jobs tin beryllium done by robots successful future.

"At the different extremity of the scale, we don't let successful radical with dextrous skills - these are the skills robots find hardest to do. People who enactment successful nutrient factories for instance."

Such jobs were besides wherever determination were "acute labour shortages", helium added.

Mr Eustice said the authorities should "completely reappraise" what it defined arsenic skills and present a impermanent visa strategy lasting 2 to 3 years for sectors specified arsenic nutrient processing, which had "acute labour shortages that are contributing to inflation".

These shortages, caused by not having capable migrant workers, were "exacerbating" the complaint of ostentation by contributing to higher nutrient prices, on with rising vigor costs, helium argued.

"Perhaps up to a 3rd of ostentation that we're seeing successful nutrient is down to shortages of labour. That is driving up the outgo of labour, affecting availability of output," helium said.

He hoped the autarkic reappraisal would recognise that "dextrous skills [like fruit-picking] tin really beryllium enactment connected the skilled database and immoderate of the professions specified arsenic lawyers and insolvency practitioners, the radical we don't truly request immoderate much of, could beryllium removed from that list".

Mr Eustice warned it mightiness beryllium "many years" earlier robots were susceptible of skills similar fruit-picking.

"Robots find it easier to regenerate cognitive skills. You tin bid a robot to beryllium a expansive maestro of chess rather easily. You can't bid a robot to beryllium a fielder and drawback a cricket ball.

"Those dextrous skills that humans person are really rather hard to replicate successful robots," helium said, adding that fruit-picking progressive environments that were "too unpredictable and excessively variable".

Ms Braverman has insisted the UK tin bid its ain effect pickers and lorry drivers to bring down immigration. These sectors person suffered peculiar labour shortages pursuing Brexit and the Covid pandemic.

Mr Eustice agreed that home workers should person amended training, but said helium wholly disagreed with the location secretary's main point.

"Every developed state successful the satellite has seasonal idiosyncratic schemes for agriculture. We're going to request to person a seasonal workers strategy for the agelong term, the adjacent 5 years, astir apt longer," helium said.

A run to enlistee much UK-based workers for seasonal workplace roles was scrapped successful 2021 aft a comparatively tiny fig of radical signed up to it.