Strike action inevitable as Britain’s bosses fail to understand implications of national labour shortages

One thing that never ceases to amaze me when writing about business is the capacity of executives to shoot themselves in the foot.

Britain currently faces a national lorry driver shortage as a result of the government’s fondness for shooting the country in the foot, this time courtesy of its hostility towards the EU drivers that used to help keep our supermarket shelves full, parcels delivered and the economy moving.

The hostile environment created for EU citizens living and/or working here has seen thousands of them departing for friendlier climes.

As a result of that, and the problems caused by the pandemic, the remaining drivers are frequently being asked to work longer hours, and maybe to give up on holidays too.

Their employers are, to a large extent, reliant upon their goodwill. They would be well advised to play nice.

That doesn’t appear to have happened at Yodel, the parcel delivery company. Its bosses must have missed the seminar where the laws of supply and demand were explained with respect to labour relations because they’ve found themselves facing a fight with the union.

The GMB has accused the company of imposing unworkable schedules and reneging on past agreements, among other things. To underline the point, it has called a strike ballot and is threatening a “complete standstill” over the summer.

“Picking a fight with a group of organised LGV1 drivers at a time of mass driver shortages is an act of corporate self-sabotage from Yodel,” GMB national officer Nadine Houghton said.

It’s hard to argue with that.

This is unlikely to be the last such occurrence. And it won’t be just the logistics industry left feeling the heat.

The labour shortages starting to make their presence felt across the UK economy have shifted the balance of power between workers and their bosses, with the former finding themselves holding an unaccustomed degree of leverage. No wonder they’re using it.

The government has sought to deal with the issue, in the case of lorry drivers, in the worst way possible: by extending their permitted hours.

This is a catastrophically stupid decision because it creates a very obvious road safety issue. Fatigued drivers are apt to make mistakes, and mistakes when you’re driving a large, heavy vehicle can prove fatal.

Trade body Logistics UK wants no part of such a plan. It can see the risks even if transport secretary Grant Shapps can’t. But a quick fix is not just profoundly dangerous. It’s also unsustainable.

There are some who fondly believe that the end of the furlough, and the rise in unemployment that will inevitably follow, should serve up a longer term solution by creating extra capacity in the labour market.

But it’s unlikely to be so easy. Take lorry drivers again. They aren’t created overnight. It’s a skilled job that requires qualifications and training. This is true of a number of occupations currently experiencing a shortage.

For their numbers of vacancies to be increased, people are going to have to switch careers and sectors, which is quite a wrench and takes time.

Even if they start doing this in numbers, the shortages may prove naggingly persistent in some sectors. You can’t force people to do jobs they don’t want to do, or which they are unsuited to.

Eventually the government is going to have to recognise this. Home secretary Priti Patel, who likes to give the impression that she’ll deport football before it gets the chance to come home, will either have to change tack and allow more overseas workers in, or change sector herself.

In the meantime, the GMB has quite rightly gone out to bat for its members in an attempt to secure better terms and conditions. When the iron is hot, it’s the right time to strike. Or at least to hold a ballot. Summer of discontent, anyone?