In Germany, there are great hopes that the current chaos at many airports can be resolved with the help of temporary workers from Turkey. However, only very few can be used during the peak travel season, because training and security checks have to be completed.

The very first announcement that a Turkish temporary work agency was in place that could employ around 2.000 airport workers with all the necessary training and certificates almost immediately caused industry insiders to shake their heads. Where does a Turkish temporary work agency want to take so many people from who can be placed at German airports “ready to use”? And the logical follow-up question: Why don't they work in their home country? It's not like Turkish airports have too many staff. The opposite is the case, because aviation employees are desperately needed in this state as well.

Gradually it comes to light that there are actually many temporary workers from Turkey, but reality and the original announcements do not quite match. There are also legal and bureaucratic circumstances: Even if you have the appropriate training or security checks in Turkey, these are of little value in Germany, since the latter in particular has to be repeated. Rules are rules and the fact that the German federal government, after initial hesitation, advocates the use of temporary staff from Turkey does not change that.

Employers must pay at least 14,25 euros per hour

The German Federal Employment Agency has now given the green light in principle, but at the same time has also decreed that at least 14,25 euros must be paid per hour worked. Furthermore, the surcharges stipulated in the collective bargaining agreement must be paid and the employer must provide appropriate accommodation for the duration of the assignment, which can initially be approved for a limited period of three months.

The Turkish temporary workers cannot immediately make their way to Germany because the German bureaucracy has something against it. First of all, everyone has to apply for a so-called work visa. All sorts of documents must be submitted to the embassy. The government says it wants to speed up the process, but it doesn't work according to the "coffee to go" motto. The waiting time is around three weeks, although it can be expected that it will take longer due to the large number of applications.

Suppose the temporary worker submits the papers he needs for the work visa today. Then he can expect approval at the end of July/beginning of August 2022. Depending on which job he will then do, a training period of three to six weeks can be expected. The security check required for the work must also be completed. If you add up the entire lead time, you quickly get the result that the main travel season (summer holidays) is already over.

Work assignment limited to a maximum of November 6, 2022

The German employment office has added another hurdle. The work assignment in Germany is only approved until November 2022. However, most of the potential deployment time is eaten up by bureaucracy, training and inspections. Conversely, one should also put oneself in the position of potential temporary workers: Is it even worth working in Germany for a few weeks and with the risk of having to return home in November 2022 and then being unemployed there? It is precisely this circumstance that could make the jobs simply unattractive from the point of view of Turkish workers. It doesn't matter where you come from: It's about people and not coke machines. They are primarily interested in stable jobs with fair pay. Working in Germany for a few weeks but not having any prospects for the future (what about after November 2022?) is simply not stable and definitely unfair.

According to a statement by the Federal Employment Agency, approval is limited to Turkish citizens of very specific professional groups. In concrete terms, this means that the temporary workers are only used as drivers, loaders, check-in agents and as service agents for passenger handling. There is no mention of "security staff for security checks". The temporary staff may be deployed until November 6, 2022 at the latest. Workers are not currently allowed to be recruited from other non-EU countries.

Fraport does not anticipate deployment before September 2022

Another circumstance came to light on Thursday. The Federal Association of Employers announced that the airports and ground handling service providers have so far reported a need for around 1.000 temporary workers. The number is significantly lower than what was communicated by industry associations a few weeks ago, because at the time there was talk that at least 2.000 employees would be needed.

It is also exciting that the employers' association and the airport operator Fraport give different information about when the "helping hands from Turkey" can be used for the first time. The organization says it is expected that the first will start in August 2022. Fraport, on the other hand, seems to know the aviation-specific circumstances very well and says that it will not be the case before September 2022. So after the main holiday season.

This makes it clear that many German holidaymakers will get little or nothing from the use of Turkish temporary workers, because according to the information currently available, they will not be available on a large scale in July and August 2022. It is also completely unclear whether the temporary employment agency will even be able to find 1.000 to 2.000 Turkish citizens who want to work in Germany for such a short time without long-term prospects.