Germany intends to attract foreign workers to address staff shortages

The German government plans to attract foreign workers in order to solve the problems associated with staff shortages at airports in Germany.

According to TASS, German Labor and Social Affairs Minister Hubertus Heil made the remark in an interview with the Bild am Sonntag newspaper on Sunday.

"The federal government plans to allow urgently needed personnel from abroad to enter Germany for temporary work," Heil said. "We want to eliminate any form of social dumping and exploitation. Employers must pay a set rate wage and provide decent housing for a certain period of time," he stressed.

According to sources in the government of Germany, Bild am Sonntag says, currently, the country's airports lack from 2 to 3 thousand employees. Thus, the purpose of the measure is "to bring from Türkiye to Germany a four-digit number of skilled workers who, at best, can work for a few months starting in July".

Not only airports but also air carriers are experiencing problems with staff shortages. So, on Thursday, the largest German airline Lufthansa announced the cancellation of another 2.2 thousand flights in the middle of the summer season at its hub airports in Frankfurt am Main and Munich. This applies, in particular, to flights in Germany and Europe, but not to traditional holiday destinations that are popular during the holiday season. Two weeks ago, the company informed that it would cancel about 900 domestic and European flights in July, which were supposed to be operated on Fridays and weekends.

According to Lufthansa board member Detlef Kaiser, it was initially clear that staff shortages in the aviation industry would be a serious problem. For example, the airport in Frankfurt am Main has invested heavily in recruiting. However, employees could not be found quickly, which is partly due to the more stringent security checks in the industry. Airports, airlines, and ground service groups cut jobs during the crisis and are now actively trying to hire new employees. German airport operator Fraport has warned that staff shortages could lead to serious flight delays at Lufthansa's home hub.