Hiking wages won't solve UK warehouse workers crunch -Next CEO

Hiking wage offers will not solve a shortage of seasonal warehouse workers, the boss of British clothing retailer Next said on Wednesday. The issue is just the availability of people who want to do that work," he said.

Hiking wage offers will not solve a shortage of seasonal warehouse workers, the boss of British clothing retailer Next said on Wednesday. "The big issue isn't the cost actually, the big issue is just availability," Simon Wolfson told reporters after Next published first-half results.

"We don't think that the solution to that is increasing costs (wages) although inevitably there will be some. The issue is just the availability of people who want to do that work," he said. Wolfson said the answer, particularly for seasonal work, lies in an immigration policy that makes the best use of the contribution that people from overseas can make to the British economy.

"At the moment the system doesn't do that."