劳动力短缺，英国签证政策或将进一步放宽

Recently, the shortage of employees related to brexit and the supply chain delay caused by the COVID-19 epidemic have affected British companies. A monthly survey conducted by the Confederation of British industry shows that the inventory level of major retailers has fallen to the lowest level since records began in 1983. This is due to the shortage of workers and transportation interruption caused by the epidemic and brexit. The affected industries include restaurants, bars and wholesalers, as well as health care and construction groups.

近日，与英国脱欧相关的员工短缺以及疫情造成的供应链延迟问题影响着英国的公司。英国工业联合会进行的一项月度调查显示，主要零售商的库存水平下滑至1983年有纪录以来的最低水平，这是由于疫情和英国脱欧造成的工人短缺和运输中断所造成，受到影响的行业包括餐馆、酒吧和批发商，以及医疗保健和建筑集团。

According to Reuters on August 18, Nando's, a fast-food chain brand, was forced to temporarily close more than 40 stores in the UK, accounting for about 10% of its restaurants. The company's chicken supply chain was hit by a shortage of employees, and it is the latest blow to the country's hospitality industry. 

据路透8月18日的报道，快餐连锁品牌Nando's被迫暂时关闭英国的40多家门店，约占其餐厅数量的10%，此前该公司的鸡肉供应链因员工短缺而受到打击，这是对该国服务业的最新打击。

Andrew Sentance, a former member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England, indicated that the shortage of workers and materials was the most serious in decades. He said: "it's amazing. We can't think it's a temporary phenomenon. Now the blockade has been relaxed, and we see the impact on Britain's brexit.""This situation will last longer than expected. The shortage of skilled workers may last for several years. Brexit has reduced our ability to attract workers from the EU. "

英国央行货币政策委员会前成员安德鲁·桑坦斯表示，工人和材料短缺是几十年来最严重的，他说：“这非常惊人，我们不能认为这是暂时的现象，现在封锁已经放松，我们看到了对英国脱欧的影响。”“这种情况持续的时间比人们预期的要长，技术工人的短缺可能会持续数年，英国脱欧使我们从欧盟吸引工人的能力下降。”

In addition to Nando's, McDonald's milkshake has become the latest high-profile victim. 1250 McDonald's stores in the UK have suspended the sale of milkshakes and bottled drinks due to insufficient labor and product supply, CNN reported on August 24. A company spokesman said on the 24th that he would try to restore supply as soon as possible.  

除Nando's外，麦当劳的奶昔成为了最新一个备受关注的受害者。据美国有线电视新闻网8月24日报道，由于劳动力不足、产品供应跟不上，英国1250家麦当劳门店宣布暂停销售奶昔和瓶装饮品。公司发言人24日表示，将想办法尽快恢复供应。

According to Sina Finance and Economics, a spokesman for McDonald's UK and Ireland business said: "like most retailers, we are currently experiencing some supply chain problems, affecting the supply of a few products. Bottled drinks and milkshakes are temporarily not available in restaurants in England, Scotland and Wales. We are trying to get these foods back on the menu as soon as possible. " 

另据新浪财经报道，麦当劳英国和爱尔兰业务一位发言人表示：“和大多数零售商一样，我们目前正经历一些供应链问题，影响了少数产品的供应。英格兰、苏格兰和威尔士的餐厅暂时不供应瓶装饮料和奶昔。我们正在努力让这些食品尽快回到菜单上。”

It is reported that the supply chain problem is partly due to the shortage of truck drivers. Data show that about 20000 drivers from EU countries left the UK after brexit, making the industry gap obvious. According to the estimation of the Road Transportation Association, a British truck driver industry organization, the number of drivers in Britain has decreased by about 100000 compared with that before the epidemic. The association added that COVID-19's restrictions prevented many potential truck drivers from taking the driving test, thereby hindering them from taking the road. Immigration regulations after brexit are also part of the reason for the shortage of truck drivers.

据悉，造成供应链问题的部分原因是卡车司机短缺。数据显示，英国脱欧后约2万名来自欧盟国家的司机离英，使得行业缺口明显。据英国卡车司机行业组织道路运输协会估计，英国目前的司机数量比疫情前减少了约10万人。该协会补充说，新冠疫情的限制令许多潜在卡车司机无法参加驾驶考试，从而阻碍了他们上路。英国脱欧后的移民规定也是导致卡车司机短缺的部分原因。

Other companies suffering from supply chain problems caused by labor shortage also include, the bar group Greene king, which has problems in the supply of some alcohol in Scotland. Novikov, a high-end restaurant in London, encountered difficulties in purchasing and milk. Besides, earlier this month, KFC said that due to "some interruptions in the past few weeks", some products may be out of stock in some stores in the UK, or the packaging may look different. Large food companies such as chicken producer 2 Sisters Food Group and dairy company Arla said that the lack of transport drivers and manufacturing personnel had hit the supply. Many of these positions were in the charge of manpower from the EU before brexit.

其他遭受人工短缺而产生供应链问题的公司还包括，酒吧集团Greene King，在苏格兰的一些酒类供应出现了问题；位于伦敦的高档餐厅Novikov则表示，在采购和牛奶方面遇到困难；本月早些时候，肯德基表示，由于“过去几周的一些中断”，部分产品可能在英国的一些门店缺货，或者包装看起来可能会有所不同；鸡肉生产商2 Sisters Food Group和乳制品公司Arla等大型食品公司表示，缺乏运输司机和制造人员已经打击了供应，这些职位在英国脱欧前许多都由来自欧盟的人力负责。

In fact, before brexit, labor shortage has been a difficult problem for enterprises in UK. After brexit, when a large number of European workers want to enter the UK, they need to apply for work visas or other types of visas, which has led to a further sharp decline in the number of EU employees in the UK.

其实在英国脱欧之前，用工短缺就一直是是企业倍受困扰的难题。在脱欧后，大量的欧洲劳动力要进入英国时，就需要申请工作签证或其它类型的签证，这就造成了英国欧盟员工的进一步大幅下降。

Although the UK previously lowered the work visa standard and opened the application for graduate work visa (PSW) on July 1, it still failed to solve the problem of labor shortage. Many companies have to pay more to attract workers. According to official data, the basic wage of accommodation and catering services increased by 5.8% from April to June, it is the largest increase among the 24 industries listed by the National Bureau of statistics.

虽然英国此前放宽了工签标准，并于7月1日开放了毕业生工作签证（PSW）的申请，但仍没能解决劳动力短缺的问题。许多公司不得不支付更多费用来吸引工人。官方数据显示，4 月至 6 月当季住宿和餐饮服务行业的基本工资增长了 5.8%，是国家统计局列出的 24 个行业中增幅最大的。

Amazon said it would offer bonuses of up to 1000 pounds at various sites in the UK to attract new long-term and seasonal workers. Other warehousing, transportation and logistics companies such as DHL and Whistl also have similar plans.

亚马逊公司表示，将在英国各个站点提供高达1000英镑的奖金，以吸引新的长期和季节性工人，其他仓储、运输和物流公司如DHL和Whistl也有类似的计划。

Andrew hunter, co-founder of a British job search website, said that companies should respond to "emerging recruitment difficulties and threats" by improving employment conditions, such as increasing training opportunities and maintaining an appropriate balance between flexibility and security. "By providing better jobs, employers will be better able to attract and retain the employees they need, especially in industries that traditionally rely on EU employees." 

英国一求职网站联合创始人安德鲁·亨特表示，公司应该通过改善就业条件来应对“新出现的招聘困难威胁”，比如增加培训机会，以及在灵活性和安全性之间保持适当的平衡。他说：“通过提供更优质的工作，雇主将能更好地吸引和留住所需的员工，特别是在传统上依赖欧盟员工的行业。”

Professor Brian bell, chairman of the Migration Advisory Committee, said that the UK needs to add more industries to the work visa list so that some enterprises can recruit migrant employees more easily.The committee will then make recommendations to the government at the end of the year.

英国移民咨询委员会主席布赖恩·贝尔教授则表示，英国需要将更多行业添加到工作签证名单中，以便某些企业更容易招到移民员工。该委员会接下来将在年底就短缺清单向政府提出建议。