The UK’s shortage of butchers is not news within the industry. In fact, it’s been something that’s been foreseen for quite some time, and just as with the shortage of HGV drivers, it’s now crunch time for Britain at large. The nation’s farming industry has warned that as many as hundreds of thousands of pigs might have to be culled within weeks, unless the government issues visas to allow more butchers into the country.

Naturally, that’s raised questions about why companies aren’t doing more to hire UK workers, but the meat industry in turn has pointed out that solving the issue involves more than just pointing trainees at the nearest Victorinox knives and butchers blocks and expecting them to get cracking. It takes well over a year to train a butcher to a sufficient level, and the sector needs 12,000 experienced butchers immediately - an urgent short-term problem that at the moment, it looks like only immigration policy adjustments can solve.

What exactly is happening?

Basically, the UK is facing an acute shortage of butchers in the meat processing industry. As we touched on above, this is an issue that many have seen coming for quite some time, and it’s been worsened by dual challenges of Covid-19 and our Brexit immigration policy. EU workers in the sector are in the midst of leaving, or have already left. In particular, the exodus of many Eastern European workers from the UK’s abattoirs has left many working well under capacity, and the number of pigs they’ve been able to take for processing has dropped by as much as 25%.

That’s left farmers dealing with a huge backlog of mature pigs ready for processing, and thousands have already run out of places to keep them. There are currently more than 120,000 pigs on farms that should have been slaughtered, sold and eaten by now. Left with no other option, many farmers have already been forced to begin culling their pigs and dumping the carcasses.

Right now, the sector is pressing for the government to relax the visa rules to fill the labour gap. While temporary visas have already been proposed to EU HGV drivers and tanker drivers to tempt them back in and hopefully avoid further shortages over Christmas, as of the date of publication no such plan is yet on the table for migrant workers for the meat processing industry.

Butchers steel

So what does the sector want from the government?

The British Meat Processors Association has been keen to point out that it’s not asking for a return to free movement, or to ask the government to step in and unilaterally fix the problem. Its chief concern is that the labour shortfall may end up causing potential meat shortages from October 2021 onwards, which may be especially catastrophic in the run up to Christmas.

Skilled butchers take an average of 18 months to train, and with less than three months to go until Christmas, the BMPA argues that there’s no way it will be able to find enough skilled butchers within the UK to make up the shortfall before the festive season. Instead, what it needs is for a relaxation of the rules to allow the labour gap of 12,000 butchers to be closed, while it works on more long-term solutions. It mentions one unnamed company that’s been investing £100 million a year into new technology and equipment for the last 5 years.

Within the last week, the government appointed Sir David Lewis, the former Tesco CEO, to advise on the potential for supply chain issues in the run up to Christmas. For some it’s a small step in the right direction, but for countless others it’s a measure that still does not go nearly far enough to meaningfully address the issue. As to what happens next, we’ll just have to wait and see.

Whatever your own staffing situation, you can rest assured that when it comes to butchers equipment for your business, we’ve got you covered right here at Butchers Equipment Warehouse. We’ve got a huge range of butchers knives, filleting knives and spares and consumables available, both from F Dick and a range of other world-leading manufacturers such as Victorinox and Swibo. If you need any advice or you’re looking for anything in particular, don’t hesitate to give us a call on 01254 427761. We’re here to help!