In the midst of the pig cull, ministers are considering temporary visas for international butchers.
Following a kill of 600 pigs due to labor shortages, ministers are reportedly considering issuing temporary visas to butchers from the European Union.
With the pig crisis expected to last until October, The I has learned that government ministers are considering easing Britain’s language skills immigration bar in order to allow skilled butchers from the continent to fill vacancies in the UK. One of the Cabinet Ministers in favor of lowering the language threshold is Environment Secretary George Eustice, according to reports.
On Thursday, the former UKIP MP met with pig farmers at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to discuss how the government might help the industry.
Mr Eustice allegedly informed the pig farmers that “some modifications” to the language standards would be considered.
Then he told the podcast ‘Farmers Weekly’: “Because there is a definite seasonal demand for roughly 5,500 people to work in the poultry field, we implemented a temporary visa scheme for them.
“We don’t have quite the same urgency when it comes to pigs, but we’re hoping to make some changes to the skill list.
“Butchers are in the list of skills.
“They are allowed to enter the UK if they are paid the £25,000 requirement.
“Some processors have raised some concerns with us about the language threshold for entry, so that’s something we’re looking into.”
Stephen Barclay, the former Brexit Secretary and current Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, is thought to support making it simpler for continental employees to obtain visas.
However, the revelation comes after Boris Johnson used his Tory Party conference speech in Manchester to declare his desire to build a high-skill, high-wage economy.
“We will not return to the same old broken paradigm of low wages, low growth, low skills, and low productivity, all of which are allowed and aided…