劳动力短缺，英国签证政策或将进一步放宽

According to Sina Finance and Economics, a spokesman for McDonald's UK and Ireland business said: "like most retailers, we are currently experiencing some supply chain problems, affecting the supply of a few products. Bottled drinks and milkshakes are temporarily not available in restaurants in England, Scotland and Wales. We are trying to get these foods back on the menu as soon as possible. "

另据新浪财经报道，麦当劳英国和爱尔兰业务一位发言人表示："和大多数零售商一样，我们目前正经历一些供应链问题，影响了少数产品的供应。英格兰、苏格兰和威尔士的餐厅暂时不供应瓶装饮料和奶昔。我们正在努力让这些食品尽快回到菜单上。"

It is reported that the supply chain problem is partly due to the shortage of truck drivers. Data show that about 20000 drivers from EU countries left the UK after brexit, making the industry gap obvious. According to the estimation of the Road Transportation Association, a British truck driver industry organization, the number of drivers in Britain has decreased by about 100000 compared with that before the epidemic. The association added that COVID-19's restrictions prevented many potential truck drivers from taking the driving test, thereby hindering them from taking the road. Immigration regulations after brexit are also part of the reason for the shortage of truck drivers.

据悉，造成供应链问题的部分原因是卡车司机短缺。数据显示，英国脱欧后约2万名来自欧盟国家的司机离英，使得行业缺口明显。据英国卡车司机行业组织道路运输协会估计，英国目前的司机数量比疫情前减少了约10万人。该协会补充说，新冠疫情的限制令许多潜在卡车司机无法参加驾驶考试，从而阻碍了他们上路。英国脱欧后的移民规定也是导致卡车司机短缺的部分原因。

Other companies suffering from supply chain problems caused by labor shortage also include, the bar group Greene king, which has problems in the supply of some alcohol in Scotland. Novikov, a high-end restaurant in London, encountered difficulties in purchasing and milk. Besides, earlier this month, KFC said that due to "some interruptions in the past few weeks", some products may be out of stock in some stores in the UK, or the packaging may look different. Large food companies such as chicken producer 2 Sisters Food Group and dairy company Arla said that the lack of transport drivers and manufacturing personnel had hit the supply. Many of these positions were in the charge of manpower from the EU before brexit.

其他遭受人工短缺而产生供应链问题的公司还包括，酒吧集团Greene King，在苏格兰的一些酒类供应出现了问题；位于伦敦的高档餐厅Novikov则表示，在采购和牛奶方面遇到困难；本月早些时候，肯德基表示，由于"过去几周的一些中断"，部分产品可能在英国的一些门店缺货，或者包装看起来可能会有所不同；鸡肉生产商2 Sisters Food Group和乳制品公司Arla等大型食品公司表示，缺乏运输司机和制造人员已经打击了供应，这些职位在英国脱欧前许多都由来自欧盟的人力负责。

UK may further liberalize its visa policy

In fact, before brexit, labor shortage has been a difficult problem for enterprises in UK. After brexit, when a large number of European workers want to enter the UK, they need to apply for work visas or other types of visas, which has led to a further sharp decline in the number of EU employees in the UK.

其实在英国脱欧之前，用工短缺就一直是是企业倍受困扰的难题。在脱欧后，大量的欧洲劳动力要进入英国时，就需要申请工作签证或其它类型的签证，这就造成了英国欧盟员工的进一步大幅下降。

Although the UK previously lowered the work visa standard and opened the application for graduate work visa (PSW) on July 1, it still failed to solve the problem of labor shortage. Many companies have to pay more to attract workers. According to official data, the basic wage of accommodation and catering services increased by 5.8% from April to June, it is the largest increase among the 24 industries listed by the National Bureau of statistics.

虽然英国此前放宽了工签标准，并于7月1日开放了毕业生工作签证（PSW）的申请，但仍没能解决劳动力短缺的问题。许多公司不得不支付更多费用来吸引工人。官方数据显示，4 月至 6 月当季住宿和餐饮服务行业的基本工资增长了 5.8%，是国家统计局列出的 24 个行业中增幅最大的。