The Environmental Services Association (ESA) has written to Home Secretary Priti Patel to express concerns about the impact of the forthcoming immigration rule changes on the waste industry.
From 1 January 2021, EU migrants will be treated the same as those from the rest of the world. Migrants will have to meet several categories under a points-based system to work in the UK.
Workers will have to meet number of thresholds in order to reach 70 points, including passing an English test for 10 points and a salary threshold of £25,600 for 20 points.
The ESA has written to Priti Patel to express concerns about the impact of the forthcoming immigration rule changes (picture: Shutterstock)
Signed by senior figures at Biffa, Smart Solutions Recruitment, Suez UK Recycling & Recovery and Viridor, the ESA’s letter relates fears about the industry’s ability to recruit frontline staff.
The letter, sent on 5 June, reads: “The recent Covid-19 crisis has demonstrated the critical role that we play in protecting public health and the environment.
“To do this, we rely heavily on frontline operatives in collection crews and sorting plants for recycling, of which almost 90% of the latter currently come from Europe.
“Retention rates for UK nationals in these challenging roles tend to be very low, creating a reliance on EU migrants to maintain operations.
“In this context, it is vital for the continued smooth operation of waste services that the recycling and waste industry is included on the shortage occupation lists.
“Without this change, there is a strong risk of significant increases in costs to councils, which rely on these sorting plants to process the majority of their household recycling.”
Waste management
The ESA says the waste management sector employs more than 100,000 workers across all parts of the UK. The association claims the industry has a turnover of around £12 billion and contributes more than £5 billion directly to UK GDP.
“We rely heavily on frontline operatives in sorting plants for recycling, of which 90% currently come from Europe”
Under the system the original salary threshold was £30,000. Following a recommendation from the Migration Advisory Committee, this has been lowered to £25,600.
The ESA says it welcomes the lower salary threshold, but the association believes it will not go far enough to mitigate the potential damage caused to the waste management industry’s ability to recruit front-line staff.
Signatories
The full list of the letter’s signatories includes Biffa’s chief executive Michael Topham, the ESA’s executive director Jacob Hayler, the chairman of Smart Solutions Recruitment Nathan Bowles, Suez’s chief executive John Scanlon and Phil Piddington, the managing director of Viridor.
The signatories say they would welcome an opportunity to meet Priti Patel and her officials to set out their concerns in more detail.
In February, several senior industry figures told letsrecycle.com they worried the waste sector could be hit by a shortage of workers as a result of the system (see letsrecycle.com story).
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Source: letsrecycle.com Waste Managment
