đź•’ Article read time: 4 minutes
Logistics workers should be vaccination priority
The deployment of vaccines is being strictly controlled by government, with priority rightly being given to the elderly and clinically vulnerable, as well as care, healthcare and educational professionals.
Given the need to safeguard the delivery of medicines, food and other vital supplies, however, Logistics UK believes there is a strong case to prioritise logistics workers too.
Calling on government to prioritise logistics workers after people 70 years of age and over and clinically extremely vulnerable individuals for the vaccine, Logistics UK’s Chief Executive David Wells has written to Nadhim Zahwi MP, Minister for COVID Vaccine Deployment at the Department.
LOGISTICS WORKERS MORE AT RISK
In his letter, Wells said that the delivery of medicines, food and other vital goods and services was now under threat: “There is evidence from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) that operational logistics workers, and transport workers more generally, are more exposed and at risk than the average employee.”
The risks that logistics workers are exposed to have grown substantially since the new highly transmissible variants have emerged, Wells continued.
SKILLS SHORTAGE AND PAUSE ON TESTING
There are two other issues potentially placing the delivery of essential supplies at risk: the shortage of commercial drivers and the lack of testing by Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA).
More than three quarters of domestic freight (79%) is being moved by road, making goods vehicle drivers essential for the continued smooth running of the UK economy. However, there is currently a shortfall of 76,000 drivers and the number of HGV drivers claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance is just 148, so there is very little spare capacity in the labour market to draw upon. As the DVSA has all but ceased driving tests, it is not possible for new drivers to enter the logistics industry.
“A COVID -19 outbreak of just a few hundred cases among HGV drivers would have a material impact on the supply of goods to UK communities,” Wells said.
TESTING TIMES
A further issue is exacerbating the problems faced by the logistics industry: the requirement for all drivers moving goods to France to present with a negative COVID-19 test result in order to be able to make the journey.
“This is decreasing throughput at our busiest ports and increasing the cost of goods our country imports and exports,” Wells said. “If drivers were to receive the vaccine, this would enable higher throughput at our ports and help reduce costs to consumers.”
VACCINE PRIORITISATION KEY TO KEEP UK TRADING
The prioritisation of logistics workers for a vaccine will help to counter the driver shortage and the pause in vocational testing by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), Logistics UK believes.
Wells concluded: “Based on this evidence, and the essential role of logistics in the UK economy, we are requesting that logistics workers be placed behind people 70 years of age and over and clinically extremely vulnerable individuals for vaccination.”
*www.logistics.org.uk/coronavirus
Published On: 21/01/2021 17:00:14
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