German business, unions: Syrian workers help economy and should stay

A chorus of business and union leaders argued over the weekend for keeping Syrian workers in Germany, following a suggestion from a conservative politician to send them back now that the Syrian regime has been overthrown.

“We cannot do without them in many areas,” said Ingo Wortmann, the president of the Association of German Transport Companies (VDV), in response to a query from dpa.

Some 2,000 Syrians work in the public transport sector nationwide alone, he said. Without them to drive the buses and trains, the shortage that already exists would be exacerbated. Already in most major German cities there are numerous street signs advertising the advantages of working in public transport and asking people to apply.

Private sector companies want Syrian workers

Business representatives don’t want their Syrian workers sent back either and criticized calls for a halt on admitting Syrians, a suggestion made by Bavarian conservative CSU politician Andrea Lindholz.

“We rely on well-integrated and qualified labour,” the president of the Family-Run Companies Association told the Sunday newspaper the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung. Many companies have invested in the refugee training and education to compensate for the shortage of skilled and unskilled workers, said Marie-Christine Ostermann.

“They should not then be deported.”

Marc Tenbieg, of the executive board of the German Association of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, told the Frankfurt paper that small and medium-sized enterprises would “painfully miss their Syrian employees. Medium-sized companies cannot afford to do without willing workers. Therefore, we reject a rush decision on possible repatriations to Syria.”

Unions: Syrian labour force needed

“Be it in care, in hospitals, in post and parcel services, in mail order or many other professions. In many places, people who fled from Syria help keep this country running,” Verdi union chief Frank Werneke said.

The IG Metall union chairwoman Christiane Benner also told the newspaper: “We need skilled and labour forces from abroad.”

Overall, according to the Interior Ministry, around 975,000 Syrians are currently residing in Germany. On Monday, the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) decided to halt decisions on asylum applications for people from Syria, due to the changing situation in the country – at least for the time being.

Also on Monday, Jens Spahn, a former health minister, said Germany should now charter aircraft to send Syrians who had fled from Bashar al-Assad’s regime, back to their home country, and offer cash incentives to encourage people to leave.

“As a first step, I would say that we are making an offer. How about the German government saying: anyone who wants to go back to Syria, we’ll charter planes for them and give them a starting payment of €1,000,” ($1,060), Spahn told the broadcaster RTL/ntv.

Don’t rush to hand out return flight tickets

Dennis Radtke, head of the workers’ wing in the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party, criticized Spahn’s suggestion to send Syrians back to their country of origin.

“For both humanitarian reasons and from an economic perspective, we should not be hastily handing out flight tickets.”

One class of Syrians not wanted in Germany

But there is at least one class of Syrians that need not apply to get into the country: war criminals.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Interior Minister Nancy Faeser on Sunday warned all supporters of the deposed Syrian ruling family al-Assad against going into hiding in Germany.

“Anyone among Assad’s torturers thinking of fleeing to Germany, I can only say clearly: We will hold all the regime’s henchmen accountable with the full force of the law for their terrible crimes,” the Green party politician told the Sunday tabloid Bild am Sonntag. She stressed that international security agencies and intelligence services now need to work in close cooperation.

After the overthrow of the much-hated Assad regime, a rebel alliance led by Islamists has taken power, while al-Assad fled to Russia with his family. Under his rule, tens of thousands were unlawfully detained, oppressed, tortured and killed.

Faeser noted there are security checks at all borders.

“We are extremely vigilant. If henchmen of Assad’s terror regime try to flee to Germany, they must know that hardly any country pursues their crimes as harshly as Germany. That should deter them from making the attempt,” she told the newspaper.