This is the last article you can read this month
You can read more article this month
You can read more articles this month
Sorry your limit is up for this month
Reset on:
Please help support the Morning Star by subscribing here
CONSUMERS could see empty shelves this Christmas because of a lack of lorry drivers, the Road Haulage Association (RHA) warned yesterday.
The industry is tens of thousands of drivers short of the number that is needed, according to the organisation that represents more than 8,000 haulage companies.
Chief executive Richard Burnett said: “We are short between 45,000 and 50,000 drivers and the situation is getting worse.
“Thousands of older drivers are leaving the industry and younger people can’t afford the £3,000 it costs to get a truck licence. The government could help but won’t.
“They should support a truck-driving apprenticeship but are refusing to do so, even though they are forcing the larger trucking firms to pay the new apprenticeship levy.
“This shortage is grave and presents a real threat to Christmas and to economic growth.”
A spokesman for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said that it is working to develop an LGV driver apprenticeship standard with a group of employers.
