Europhiles have been struck a new blow as "Brexit Chaos" spread to the European Union's seat of Brussels.
Remainers on social media had been gloating for months over media-fuelled anxiety over a shortage of heavy goods vehicle (HGV) drivers — blamed on the end of free movement of labour from the EU following Britain's exit from the bloc — and posting pics of empty supermarket shelves.
But on Friday, the tables were turned when a photo emerged of empty shelves at a grocery shop in the Belgian capital, with a sign posted blaming the shortages on logistical problems
"Dear clients", the notice reads. "For reasons of logistical problems, certain products are temporarily unavailable. Please forgive us for the inconvenience".
Supermarket chain Carrefour has been having difficulties keeping shelves stocked since a strike at the Logistics Nivelles distribution centre at the start of the week.
But the Brussels Times reported the Royal Federation of Belgian Carriers and Logistic Service Providers (FEBETRA) warning of its own dearth of labour, cautioning of food shortages if 5,000 more were not swiftly recruited.
“If we want the shop shelves to remain filled in the future, then extra drivers are urgently needed”, FEBETRA spokeswoman Isabelle De Maegt said. “Without them, shelves in supermarkets and shops remain empty, all construction sites are at a standstill and factories stop running”.
On Monday, Tory MP Andrew Bridgen pointed out that Poland has 125,000 unfilled lorry driver vacancies — while in the UK 300,000 qualified drivers have left the haulage industry in recent years, which he argued was due to poor pay and conditions.