Whether as harvest helpers or waiters: seasonal workers keep gastronomy and agriculture afloat in summer. Recently, as with the skilled workers, there was a considerable shortage. How is it this year?
Halle (dpa/sa) – Experts in the hospitality industry and agriculture see the supply of seasonal workers in Saxony-Anhalt in the respective sectors as improved. With the relaxation of the corona rules, many students returned to classroom teaching, said Michael Schmidt, President of the Dehoga Hotel and Restaurant Association. The restaurateurs at the respective locations also benefited from this. Because the students are ready to work and are coping with the already tense staffing situation, explained Schmidt.
In tourist areas without a university, many restaurateurs built days off and shortened opening hours to spare the thin staffing levels, said Schmidt. They would also have to contend with the fact that some job seekers would avoid the catering industry out of concern about renewed corona restrictions and the associated loss of income.
In agriculture, we are still before the main harvest season for vegetables and fruit. A spokesman for the farmers’ association said it was not yet possible to predict whether the seasonal workers would be sufficient. In the first year of the coronavirus in particular, companies faced considerable problems in hiring seasonal workers. In the past year, the processes under pandemic conditions would have settled down a bit, according to the spokesman. So far, no acute problems in this regard have been brought to the attention of the association.
An exact recording of the situation with seasonal workers is difficult, according to the regional directorate of the employment agency in Halle. “With the statistical data available to us, it is not possible to depict seasonal employment in its entirety,” said a spokesman. An important reason for this is the different types of contracts for the employment of seasonal workers. For example, they could be subject to social security contributions, be employed on a short-term basis or on a low wage basis. Due to the many different regulations, it is difficult to differentiate between seasonal employment.
