The head of the CBI said: “Immigration should be used to address labor shortages in the UK and the government must be ‘real’ about it.”
Tony Danker, general manager of the Confederation of British Industry, will call on politicians to allow migrant workers to take up jobs that are hard to fill.
Speaking later at the CBI conference, he would say: “Let’s do economic migration in areas where we’re not going to bring people and skills back home anytime soon. In return, let’s make those visas time-consuming. fixed term.”
Brexit has made it difficult for many foreign workers to work in the UK and companies are finding it difficult to recruit – especially in industries such as hotels, which have relied heavily on European staff for many years. recent years.
Despite four quarters of decline this year, the total number of vacancies remains at well over 1.2 million.
According to the Office for National Statistics, from August to October 2022, they are 429,000 (54%) higher than pre-pandemic levels at the start of 2020 and 32,000 (2.7%) higher than a year ago .
The CBI boss is also expected to urge changes in regulations and bureaucracy, saying: “I know that some Conservative politicians today feel that this problem is Europe’s fault.
“But the biggest regulatory hurdles businesses face today are based on British law, created by a British parliament and administered by British regulators.”
Prime Minister’s statement ‘extremely welcome’
Chancellor Rishi Sunak is expected to attend the conference in Birmingham and deliver a speech focused on innovation, just days after his chancellor announced a £25 billion tax increase.
Mr Danker will hail the prime minister’s fall announcement as “very welcome” – and thank him for “staying on track” on infrastructure projects such as the HS2 rail and the Sizewell nuclear plant C.
Tony Danker will also call for action on the Northern Ireland Protocol
However, with the UK on the verge of recession and stagnant growth in recent years, he would say more needs to be done.
Mr. Danker will tell delegates: “The painful fact about growth is that it cannot be stimulated overnight. That is the mistake of small budgets.”
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Concerns about Brexit will also feature in his speech, specifically the ongoing dispute with the EU over The Northern Ireland Protocol.
“Let’s round up, do the deal, unlock the Trade and Cooperation Agreement. I say to Brexit supporters, the best guarantor of Brexit is a developed economy. it’s an undeveloped economy,” the CBI director will say.
“I know now that some of these things are not going to be popular with politicians.
“But while, I have no problem with governments making hard choices to bring about stability, I would like them to also make tough choices for growth.”
The final call to fix the Protocol issue came as Downing Street was forced to announce over the weekend that it was considering a more liberal “Swiss-style” deal with the EU to boost trade.
