These are not just turkeys, they are “Rolls Royce of turkeys”.Robert Wynn, landowner of Lord Newborough, is gazing at the rolling hills and greenery of his organic farm at Rhug Estate near Corwen in northern Wales The field, where the birds lead Appropriate luxury life, Eat organic oats, beans and peas, and listen to classical music.
Thanksgiving and Christmas Local families, high-end London restaurants and even high-end hotels in Hong Kong depend on one of his 1,300 Norfolk Bronze and Hockenhull Black birds to receive their festive meal in time.
This fall, Newborough spent several months worrying about whether the birds he carefully raised would reach their final destination, because Severe staff shortage in the British poultry processing industry Threaten millions of Christmas dinners.
When the time is right, the turkeys will be transported to Cheshire, about 50 miles away, where they will be dispatched, picked and packaged at Bailey’s Turkeys near Knutsford.
This weekend, 15 temporary employees flew from Poland to the UK and spent six weeks at a processing plant run by Michael Bailey and his brother David, which is preparing to process 2,000 chickens a day . But the company will have to have five fewer workers than usual.
Most of them are regulars and spend the holidays year after year.However, on the first Christmas after this Brexit, And working in the UK without permission, their annual journey proved to be more complicated than ever.
“We keep asking, asking, asking. This is the seasonal poultry worker we want,” said Michael Bailey. “This is a seasonal demand, such as fruit picking and hop picking.”
“We have a six-week seasonal Christmas demand. For some people, this is not a real job, it is a six-week seasonal job; it is better to hire someone to do this. Locally People want a job for 12 months a year, so we really need this flexibility to attract people.”
The meat processing industry needs thousands of workers to slaughter and prepare the 10 million turkeys that are eaten in the UK every Christmas. At this time, the company already has a large number of job vacancies. After EU workers return home due to the epidemic Brexit And coronavirus. Two-thirds of the employees in the British meat processing industry are non-UK workers, and nearly 15% of its 95,000 labor force has been lost.
However, despite industry requests, poultry processors have not been included in the government’s seasonal agricultural worker visa pilot program. Allow 30,000 people from anywhere in the world, Not just the European Union, entered the UK-but only worked in edible gardening, fruit picking and crops.
After the poultry processing industry issued a warning about what a lack of employees means, it warned that many families would In the end without their Christmas turkey, The government turned around and said it in October 5,500 seasonal poultry workers will be allowed Enter the UK with the HGV driver until the end of the year.
These warnings have prompted many shoppers to flock to supermarkets to buy frozen birds to avoid disappointment when Christmas arrives.Food retailer Iceland And Aldi have Report frozen turkey flying out of the refrigerator Much earlier than in previous years.
Bailey not only processes poultry, but also breeds turkeys. He is the chairman of the Turkey Group of the National Farmers Union. He reported that he received his first inquiry from a local butcher in September. “I have never known as I do now,” he said of his life’s business. “Get people to call and say:’Is it weird that you have my bird?'”
Richard Griffith, chief executive of the British Poultry Council, predicts that as many as 3,000 temporary workers will arrive through the seasonal program in the coming weeks.
Even if the government’s decision is later than expected, it should allow the industry to continue operating during busy periods.
“These temporary visas allow us to cross the line, and I believe it will help and make everything easier,” Griffith said. “We think we are still at a stage where there are fewer types of products, but the overall quantity does exist.”
In the cold packaging hall of Bailey’s Turkeys, workers wearing hairnets and white coats are warming up to welcome the busiest time of the year.
Before the government turned around, Bailey started Apply for permanent status For his Polish temporary employees, even if they have no intention of moving to the UK or working in the country for more than a few weeks each year.
He described the four-month process as “stressful”, including various setbacks, enough to delay the five members of the usual queue. Bailey also tried to use government-approved labor providers to fill the gap in order to find people in the temporary labor program, but the result was a blank.
Despite voting for Brexit, Bailey said he hopes the government will show more understanding as the UK transitions to life outside the EU.
He said: “They took a very tough stand, which has consequences.” “In the past 20 years, we have been very fortunate to have sufficient Eastern Group labor; we can find what we want as long as we pick up the phone. The number of employees, and the quality of the employees is very high.”
Despite raising the wages of all employees by 15% in the past six months, Bailey said he has had little success in recruiting local British employees.
“We have tried in the past, and we are still trying. The problem is that processing poultry is not seen as a career advancement for young people, and maybe the industry must promote it better.”
The increase in staffing and power costs means that Bailey has just increased his slaughter fees for customers such as Newborough, and he has seen a 7% to 10% increase in farm gate prices for turkeys.
Back at Ruger Manor, Newborough also faced the biggest cost increase storm since the turkey industry in 15 years, forcing him to increase the price of high-quality products.
“Feed, fuel, machinery costs and now labor costs; we have been hit in many ways,” he said. “This will lead to an increase in food prices. We only increased our prices by 10% across the board, but I expect our profit margins will still be eroded.”
Although the farm is operating as usual, Newborough has been trying to find workers for the Manor Cafe, which has been closed for several weeks, and is currently trying to recruit local retirees who want to work part-time.
In Cheshire, when Michael Bailey was preparing to welcome his Polish workers, he sat down to enjoy his turkey meal, looking forward to Christmas.
“It’s always a great relief, we all collapsed, all the kids are sitting around the table,” he said. “Another year has passed, and another season is over.”
