Seasonal workers are increasingly indispensable in the fruit harvest or in the hospitality industry. But they are getting harder and harder to get. That is why companies are also looking in distant countries.
Dresden (dpa/sn) – When it comes to recruiting seasonal workers, Saxon companies are breaking new ground and expanding further. “As an association, we are now also supporting the recruitment of workers with campaigns, especially in the border areas with the Czech Republic and Poland,” said the managing director of the German Hotel and Restaurant Association (Dehoga) in Saxony, Axel Klein. But workers are also being sought among Ukrainians and in Vietnam. According to the managing director of the state association “Saxon Fruit”, Udo Jentzsch, fruit growers are now also looking for helpers in countries such as Moldova, Georgia or Uzbekistan, according to a survey of associations by the German Press Agency.
According to the Central International and Specialist Placement Agency, the Federal Employment Agency mediates and advises on the recruitment of seasonal workers for agriculture. Mediation agreements are currently in place with Georgia and Moldova, it said. On the basis of these agreements, 218 seasonal workers from these two countries placed through the Federal Agency have started work in German farms this year. Last year there were 283 from Georgia alone. In addition, employers can now directly request Georgian seasonal workers who would have worked in Germany last year.
“Recruitment of workers is no longer a seasonal problem for the hospitality industry,” said Klein. During the corona pandemic, many workers had migrated. Many have returned to their old jobs. “But there are too few.” There is a gap of around 2000 to 3000 missing employees to close. Companies have to make better and better offers when recruiting new colleagues. This affects, among other things, their accommodation, childcare and career opportunities as well as payment. Even when it comes to language skills, compromises are made. “Sufficient German language skills used to be a requirement,” said Klein. Now the language acquisition will be made up for here.
The company Rank und Büttig operates six cafés and restaurants in Dresden with around 250 employees and restaurants. “We do the customary acquisition, look for employees on relevant Internet portals, regionally as well as Europe-wide, and advertise on posters in trams,” said company spokesman Felix Posselt. Social networks are also used. Applicants would be temporarily provided with apartments.
“At the moment things are not looking bad for the helpers,” said Jentzsch from the regional association “Saxon Fruit”. All recruited workers had traveled to the strawberry harvest. With fruits “that are harvested above” such as cherries, there are fewer problems anyway. The Ukrainian students were absent this season, they have been a great help in recent years. Recruitment of workers in Moldova, Georgia or Uzbekistan is done through intermediaries.
“The cultivation of asparagus and soft fruit would not be possible without the seasonal workers,” said Managing Director Frank Saalfeld from the Association of East German Asparagus and Soft Fruit Farmers. “This is especially true for the period from March to July, because the harvest of asparagus and strawberries is particularly labour-intensive.” There were also enough helpers during the asparagus harvest because the asparagus growers had reduced their harvest significantly because of cheaper imported goods from the discounters and not so many workers were needed anymore. In the case of strawberries, many pickers had terminated their preliminary contracts because of the threat of social security payments and the reference to better earning opportunities in Italy, Sweden or the Netherlands. But then the same scenario played out there as with asparagus.
