The United Kingdom will grant up to 5,000 visas temporarily to attract foreign truckers, given the growing shortage due to the pandemic and Brexit,
estimated at 100,000 drivers
, which now affects the supply of fuel, British media reported this Saturday.
This measure exhibits a radical change from Prime Minister Boris Johnson, whose government has tightened immigration rules
after the country left the European Union
and reiterated the need to end dependence on foreign labor.
However, the shortages caused by the lack of drivers, which hit the agri-food sector, but
also the energy sector
, causing the closure of several gas stations, have pushed the executive to take measures.
In recent days, huge lines have formed in front of petrol pumps, where Britons who ignore the
government's
calls
for calm
are refueling.
"Temporary measures"
"I just want to refuel to go to work
. People are filling cans, it's ridiculous," laments Mike Davey, a 56-year-old driver who has been waiting more than half an hour at a gas station in Kent, southeast London.
Faced with rising queues, Downing Street said on Friday that the government "was considering temporary measures
to avoid immediate problems
.
"
Any measure would be
"very strictly limited in time,"
stressed a Johnson spokesperson, while also assuring that the country has "large fuel deposits" and that "there is no shortage."
A claim that left drivers skeptical on Saturday morning.
"Maybe they should bring in some army drivers
,
"
suggests Davey.
In fact, there have been several calls to deploy soldiers to help distribute gasoline or deal
with the backlog of applications for heavy vehicle driving licenses
, which increased during the pandemic.
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