… Gerton Hulsman urges. The cargo veteran knows the good but also the dark sides of the business almost second to none. As former Managing Director of Dusseldorf Airport Cargo, he always
pleaded for fair pay for ground handling personnel or couriers working for package delivery companies. They deserve respect and decent earnings because otherwise they will change industries
sooner or later, is Hulsman’s credo.
Even though he retired more than a year ago, he still keeps a close eye on developments in the industry, and continues to get directly involved. As his observation, written exclusively
for CargoForwarder Global, clearly evidences.
It must have been almost a decade ago that I attended an IATA ground handling workshop somewhere on this planet. In separate working groups, we discussed quality in air cargo handling, warehouse, ramp issues, etc. At the meeting, we also touched on topics such as automation, robotization, artificial intelligence, and what not. Every topic was tabled, from improving quality to saving costs. The new process-thinking was born, and the customer would be served much better than before. That was the key outcome of the meeting, applauded by all participants.

Communist or unionist?
During one of these sessions, I raised my hand to comment. I said that the future would bring many changes and certainly lead to demanding challenges. During these processes of change, however,
in my view, those who do the practical work on the floor should not be neglected. Without their commitment and dedication, improving quality is almost impossible. One precondition to keeping them
on board is to pay handling staff decent wages and, at the same time, to train them better. Employers must give them the feeling that a big part of rendering good work/good service is in their
hands, in spite of all the modern technology they work with. Motto: the heavy, physical work is still carried out by humans day after day.
This comment was met with laughter, and a VP Cargo from a major airline even asked me whether I was a communist or a trade unionist!
I am neither a commie nor a trade unionist, but someone with long experience in air freight handling. I have seen people who could not make a living with the money they earn, let alone properly
feed their children and provide them a safe future, which, after all, is also our FUTURE!
In recent days, we are all reading and hearing that hardly any staff can be found to fill vacancies at warehouses to keep handling quality at proper levels. This particularly applies to
low-skilled personnel deployed in freight handling. All this while the industry makes a fortune evidenced by record profit figures wherever one looks.
Little pay, no respect
Take the United Kingdom that is hit by a worsening shortage of lorry drivers, leading to empty supermarket shelves, and gas stations that have to be supplied with fuel by British Army soldiers
due to the absence of drivers. Brexit has surely worsened the situation, but across the Channel, continental Europe is facing similar problems, jeopardizing the distribution of foodstuff,
technical equipment, pharmaceutical products, and so on.
Finding capable staff willing to work “for a few bucks” day in, day out, in distribution centers or cargo terminals, has become a growing challenge. This development has retarding effects on the
entire economy. The industry should ask itself if it is still attractive for people without academic degrees to work in transportation at cheap rates? I think not. According to my observation,
the vast majority of these people lack not only sufficient income, but also respect.
For instance, it is a shame that truck drivers have to struggle to get a parking space overnight on European highways. They have to park their vehicles in insecure places along roads offering no
sanitary facilities or shopping opportunities. Nighttime robberies are no longer an exception.

DHL’s Tom Mack points the way
The thriving e-commerce business has even worsened the situation because an increasing number of people is forced to work for a mere pittance to ensure their livelihood and keep their head above
the water.
A few weeks ago, I read a message from Thomas Mack, Executive Vice President Global Airfreight DHL Global Forwarding, published in CargoForwarder Global.
In his statement, he took up the cudgels for the people I mentioned above, urging employers to pay them higher wages. If not, the industry will not find sufficient staff willing to handle cargo
or deliver e-commerce items any longer.
I am encouraged by his comment, and I am convinced that Mr. Mack, too, is neither a communist nor a trade unionist.
Gerton Hulsman, Cargo Market Observer
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P Balasubramanian (Monday, 11 October 2021 00:01)
I totally agree with Gerton. Having known him well for decades as an industry colleague, he has hit the nail on the head. All the benefits out of digitalization to several technology improvements can benefit the industry only when the foundation-level colleagues are taken care of. This is still a people's business though we may be moving boxes around...because the contents of those boxes are consumed by people. This home truth should be remembered all the time.
Dietmar Korell (Monday, 11 October 2021 00:02)
I totally agree with Gerton. Ask all the big names in FRA, everybody is looking for employees. And all know the reasons…
Gonzalo (Monday, 11 October 2021 06:49)
Definitely, all or almost all aviation sectors stopped being sexy with the cutting of wages, be it the warehouses or check-in counters, who wants to work all shifts against the clock for a minimum wage? I can understand that fast food restaurants are more attractive and have better social benefits even if it’s only a cheeseburger a day.
Peter (Monday, 11 October 2021 13:15)
Hi Gerton,
Nice to read that your balls are still for the hardworking people in the 'air'-freighthandling and trucking. You are ttly right.
Y are alwys welcome in de Zilk.
XXX (Monday, 11 October 2021 20:40)
Kudos, great piece! Gerton's remarks are completely in line with my opinion and correspond to my personal experience. What he describes I experience every single day at Frankfurt Airport’s CargoCity South. There, the management of many companies still have a master-to-servant attitude when it comes to “valuing” the physical handling of air freight. Ground handling staff quit here and hire there for earning 50 cents more per hour at a neighboring company. To me, this demonstrates that the people do not identify themselves with their employer any longer. Meanwhile, employment in warehouses or at ramps is regarded as interchangeable or substitutable by many staff.
Said this, the attitude towards ground handling is so negative that people seek jobs at DHL/Amazon/dpd or even consider to hire at large supermarket chains such as Rewe or Aldi where working conditions and payments sometimes are even better compared to cargo handling.
In my view, the squeezing of ground workers like a lemon, practiced for quite some time has reached its nadir. More is not possible, otherwise the system collapses. Tom Mack’s suggestion to pay ground handlers better salaries might be a late realization of an accomplice that constant pressure on wages is the wrong approach. But better late than never!
The topic, which I consider very urgent, should get a broader public space. Therefore, I propose a meeting of the German Air Cargo Association (ACD) to openly discuss this issue in depth with different people concerned.
XXX
The CargoForwarder team knows the author personally and assures the authenticity of his statements. We anonymized his comment in order not to jeopardize his job. HS
J. Florian Pfaff (Sunday, 17 October 2021 09:53)
Well stated, Gerton. And happy to hear from you.
Stay safe.
Best wishes from Singapore,
Florian