but hasn t been formally identified. police are appealing for witnesses. returning to coronavirus now, and the spread of 0micron and of self isolation for contacts, are affecting staff levels across the economy. i spoke to matthew fell, chief policy director at the cbi, about how employers will cope. this is set to be one of the defining issues facing business as we head into the new year. we were hearing from the retail sector, for example, saying that covid related absences were rising by about 50% inside a week before the christmas break. it s hitting transport, delivery firms, manufacturing, widespread across the economy and this comes at a time when firms were already facing quite a cute skills and labour shortages so it s something of a double hit for them. i think, all that said, firms with much more prefer a situation where the economy is kept open and they are having to grapple with these challenges rather than enforced closures so what s important now as we get to a situation
in and pick up the baton when things start to go wrong. how will employers cope and what if anything can the government do to help? matthew fell is chief policy director at the cbi, hejoins me now. thank you forjoining us. we heard from one person really badly affected in terms of staff being hit by covid. what is your overview of how things are now? i by covid. what is your overview of how things are now? by covid. what is your overview of how things are now? i think this is said to be one how things are now? i think this is said to be one of how things are now? i think this is said to be one of the how things are now? i think this is said to be one of the defining - said to be one of the defining issues facing business as we head into the new year. we were hearing from the retail sector, for example, saying covid related absences were rising by 50% inside a week before the christmas break, in transport, delivery firms, manufacturing, widespread across the economy and this comes
was still a leadership i think but then again if you re having parties at number ten you can t really be kicking people out of a job, can you? kicking people out of a ob, can ou? ., ., kicking people out of a ob, can ou? ., ~ , ., kicking people out of a ob, can ou? ., ,, i. ., kicking people out of a ob, can ou? ., ,, ., ., ,, ., , you? thank you for talking to us this evening- parcel delivery firms are facing tougher rules, after a regulatorfound high levels of poor sevice in the industry. two thirds of people questioned by 0fcom said they had a problem with deliveries in the past three months. parcel firms are being told to improve the standard is this something that people complain to your organization about? yes, it certainly is. it s a problem that we have been seeing for a number of years now and to our front line of a consumer helpline and also for people seeking advice on our web pages and if you compare november this year to november 2019 pre pandemic we have seen its
issues. delivery firms in the us such as ups, fedex also agreeing to work longer hours to try to clear the backlog, and even the biggest retailers over there. walmart are chartering their own ships to get an advantage as they try to keep stuff on their shelves coming up to christmas. on their shelves coming up to christmas- on their shelves coming up to christmas. ., , , , , , christmas. that is the shipping side of this, christmas. that is the shipping side of this. there christmas. that is the shipping side of this, there is christmas. that is the shipping side of this, there is also christmas. that is the shipping side of this, there is also the christmas. that is the shipping side of this, there is also the hdv - christmas. that is the shipping side of this, there is also the hdv side, | of this, there is also the hdv side, that part of the transport chain, if you like. is anyone daring to take a guess at how long it will take to sort all of this out? guess at how long it