Europe's news in English

COPY LINK

JOBS

Frankfurt Airport union aims for total shut-down

The union organising the strike at Frankfurt Airport is mobilising air traffic controllers on Wednesday to force a complete shut-down of Germany’s busiest air hub.

Published: 28 February 2012 08:09 CET

Frankfurt Airport union aims for total shut-down

Photo: DPA

Only 12 workers would need to leave their posts at the air traffic control towers in order to ground all flights in and out of the airport, and the GdF air controllers union said on Tuesday morning it was calling on them to go on strike in solidarity with colleagues.

“If all take part, we would think that actually nothing would fly,” said Markus Siebers, GdF chairman. He said the union was planning to put the air traffic controllers on strike on Wednesday morning between 5 a.m. and 11 a.m.

So far the nearly 200 apron staff, who guide planes on the tarmac, have been on strike, to try to pressure airport operator Fraport into increasing wages and improving work conditions.

Siebers said the idea of pulling the air traffic controllers into the fight out of solidarity would be unproblematic legally as the plan was for them to only strike for a short time. The German air traffic control company contradicted this, arguing the dispute only concerned the union and the airport operator.

“An air traffic controller strike would be disproportionate,” said a spokesman for the firm.

So far Fraport has managed to keep the impact of the strike to a minimum with around 80 percent of flights going in and out of Frankfurt, as additional staff are used to replace the apron controllers.

DAPD/The Local/hc

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.

Become a Member to leave a comment.

Which Bavaria-based companies regularly hire English speakers?

Munich ranks third in German cities with the highest total GDP, behind Berlin and Hamburg, but in terms of GDP per capita, it’s higher than both of them.

It also consistently ranks high, often highest, in terms of average household income.

As of 2023, nine of the 40 companies listed on DAX, Germany’s stock index, were based in Bavaria. Seven of those are based specifically in Munich.

While Frankfurt is commonly known to be Germany’s business capital, Munich can claim the title of Germany’s insurance capital, which is saying something, as Germany is home to some of the largest insurance firms in the world, like Allianz.

Beyond the state’s capital city, a number of international companies are based elsewhere in Bavaria, particularly in the Franken region, near Nuremberg.

Which companies actively hire English speakers?

Bavaria, and Munich in particular, is home to a number of companies at the forefront of international business. But the state is known for its traditional, sometimes conservative, culture, which affects its business culture as well.

Whereas companies embracing English as their primary business language are easy to find in Berlin, the practice is less common in the south. That said, there are some notable exceptions.

Sportswear giants, Adidas and Puma, both have their headquarters near Nuremberg in Herzogenaurach, and regularly recruit English speaking international talent.

“As an international company, our teams reflect the rich diversity of our consumers and communities,” Jon Greenhalgh, Senior Manager Media Relations for Adidas told The Local. “Fostering a culture of inclusion where we value and leverage differences, ensures that we can authentically engage with our employees and truly connect with our consumers.”

He added that around 40 per cent of Adidas’ Germany-based employees are foreign nationals, from over 100 different countries.

Siemens and BMW rank among Bavaria’s top employers, and are also known to hire their fair share of foreigners.

“In Germany, we recently had around 2,000 open positions,” Konstanze Somborn told The Local on behalf of Siemens AG.

He added that Siemens operates in 190 countries. “That is why we value international teams very much…English as a common language is very usual.”

READ ALSO: ‘Which German companies want to hire foreigners?’

Similarly, BMW hires workers from a variety of backgrounds.

“Every year, we hire lots of internationals and welcome them to the BMW Group,” Dr. Hans-Peter Ketterl, a press spokesman for BMW Group told The Local.

But not all of these positions are available to non-German speakers.

Ketterl added that BMW’s working language is German in the country, even though, “English is an indispensable entry requirement as the second corporate language in many areas of the company.”

Check job boards and follow best practices

If it’s your first time applying for jobs in Germany, make sure to change your resume to the German format, even for English positions.

While Germany is home to its own job boards, like Xing, LinkedIn is probably the best place to start. In addition to searching for positions based in your preferred location, you can check relevant groups, like Munich Startups, to broaden your horizons.

The English Jobs in Germany website is also a good resource to start with.

Url copied to clipboard!