Germany must fast-track migrants to fill airport jobs say ministers
Germany should fast-track Turkish migrants to fill catastrophic airport staff shortages, say politicians
- Germany wants to bring in migrants from Turkey to help solve their airport chaos
- Like the UK, Germany’s airports have been overcrowded without enough staff
- Ministers in Germany say migrants should be fast-tracked to help fill these roles
German ministers are planning to fast-track migrants from Turkey into the country to help reduce airport chaos caused by a lack of workers.
Several politicians have said giving out residence and work permits quickly to migrants will help with the staff shortages the German aviation industry is experiencing.
The ministers involved stressed that safety and background checks won’t be compromised on.
They also said they would ‘act pragmatically’ if migrant workers are found to be housed in poor conditions or taken advantage of.
Like the UK, overcrowded and understaffed airports have been a problem in Germany with the pandemic being blamed as the cause.
German transport Minister Wissing believes skilled workers left or were fired during the pandemic, and hopes this scheme will solve the problem.
Roles such as baggage handling and check-ins, which minister believe can be filled quickly, could be filled by migrants from Turkey in the very near future.
Germany is set to fast-track migrants into the country to help them alleviate stress on the aviation industry, which like the UK is suffering from a lack of staff (Passengers checking in at Berlin Brandenburg Airport)
German Transport Minister Volker Wissing and German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (pictured) are both backing the scheme
The ministers reiterated that safety would be paramount, proper wages will be paid and it is not temporary work.
Transport Minister Volker Wissing said at the beginning of the press conference: ‘This is a problem that we have across Europe. We are very concerned about this because we see people’s disappointment
‘There are a lack of specialists at the companies that organize ground handling and in the area of security checks. It’s a difficult topic because only the private sector can bring back the skilled workers it lost in the pandemic.’
Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser said: ‘We will make it possible for companies to use auxiliary workers from abroad, especially from Turkey.
‘We will issue the necessary residence and work permits very quickly. My company has already agreed to do this.’
The assistants could then ‘be used for baggage handling, for example,’ and would have to ‘go through the same strict background checks as everyone else,’ Faeser said.
Faeser continued: ‘In my opinion, there are no compromises when it comes to safety. The citizens cannot be expected to do that either, and we are confident that the reliability checks carried out by the federal states will do everything to ensure that this can be done quickly.’
The German ministers believe that migrants could quickly be trained to work in Airport check ins (Pictured: Hamburg Airport)
Federal Minister of Labor Hubertus Heil said the situation was particularly bitter because ‘many people are actually looking forward to their vacation after a long Coronavirus period’.
At the same time, the minister promised that there would be no temporary work. ‘The companies will have to hire the workers directly,’ says Heil.
In addition, the government will ensure ‘that wages are paid according to tariffs and that there is no wage dumping.’
Heil’s announcement to the companies came with a warning, he told them state authorities will act pragmatically and check if migrants who come are accommodated humanely.
Other possible measures include streamlining flight operations and adopting rigorous rules for carry-on baggage in order to speed up security checks.
Shortages of staff in airports has occurred in several countries. In the UK the Government blamed airlines failing to plan by slashing jobs during the pandemic
While facing the same problems as Germany, Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden, UK airline have often blamed Brexit as part of the problem.
Airlines have asked Transport Secretary Grant Shapps to temporarily ease post-Brexit immigration rules so they can similarly access the supply of qualified workers in Europe.
However the government has rejected the suggestion and blamed the ongoing problems on the industry’s failure to plan accordingly.
Carriers slashed thousands of jobs during the pandemic which has caused hundreds of delayed or cancelled flights, huge queues to form at airports and travellers to wait four hours or more for luggage.
The problems have largely been due to staff shortages after carriers slashed thousands of jobs during the pandemic.
Jet2 had to deny reports that its chief executive Stephen Heapy blamed recruitment issues on ‘lazy Brits who live off benefits and sit on their arses’.
The airline admitted that Brexit was making it more difficult to fill open positions.
Last week more than 700 Heathrow check-in and ground-handling staff voted for industrial action in a row over pay – which could further exacerbate the situation.
The GMB and Unite unions are expected to set strike dates for around July 22, when the school break begins.
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