Migrant labour and agriculture

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It is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), and based at King’s College London.Brexit has already had an effect on the supply of migrant labour with employers in agricultural activities encountering difficulty in recruiting all the workers they need. In part this is because of a fall in the value of the pound which makes working in the UK less financially attractive. In part this is because of a perception that they are less welcome in the UK than before the referendum.

What will be needed after Brexit is a new version of Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme (SAWS), not confined to the EU. The countries outside the EU would be a matter for debate, but would be politically stable areas within a reasonable distance of the UK such as the Ukraine.

• Primary Source

ESO: In Focus: Brexit - The United Kingdom and the European Union http://www.europeansources.info/record/brexit-the-united-kingdom-and-the-european-union/

ESO: Background information: NFU launches biggest farming consultation for a generation post-Brexit http://www.europeansources.info/record/nfu-launches-biggest-farming-consultation-for-a-generation-post-brexit/

ESO: Background information: Ploughing the Wrong Furrow. The costs of agricultural exceptionalism and the precautionary principle http://www.europeansources.info/record/ploughing-the-wrong-furrow-the-costs-of-agricultural-exceptionalism-and-the-precautionary-principle/

The Conversation, 28.06.17: The real reasons why British workers won’t pick fruit http://theconversation.com/the-real-reasons-why-british-workers-wont-pick-fruit-80152

The Guardian, 22.06.17: Farms hit by labour shortage as migrant workers shun 'racist' UK https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jun/22/farms-hit-by-labour-shortage-as-migrant-workers-shun-racist-uk

The Guardian, 21.05.17: Brexit and the coming food crisis: ‘If you can’t feed a country, you haven’t got a country’ https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/may/21/brexit-coming-food-crisis-seasonal-migrant-labour-eu

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