Agency fights to use Gurkhas
Page 6
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
MI A driver recruitment agency which was banned from employing 39 Gurkhas for long-standing vacancies has won widespread parliamentary support for its campaign.
Nick Collins, managing director of Driving force Logistics (IIL), has the backing of Shadow Transport Secretary Bernard Jankin and MPs from the three major parties. They agree that the former servicemen should be allowed to alleviate the driver crisis.
Collins is planning to bring the issue back into public focus in the spring, but declines to elaborate on specific plans.
The Home Office and the Department for Education and Employment dismissed Ens application last autumn after four months of deliberation. However, Collins insists that "no real reason was given".
According to Collins, since the decision the Gurkhas he had selected have been "snapped up" for jobs in Hong Kong, Japan and the Middle East. He warns: The whole situation seems ridiculous when we are struggling to get recruits—we have Clients who would take them tomorrow. The Gurkhas have served our country, they are highly trained and known for their honesty and reliability. Other countries would snap them up but our government won't let them work here."
A spokesperson for the DfEE says its position has not changed: "There is no evidence of a skills shortage: it is more a recruitment and retention problem."