Worker in Switzerland, he “no longer has the strength to eat in the evening”:

A road worker tells of how heat weighs on him, but also how the condescending attitude of certain office employees, safety rules that are difficult to apply and ordinary racism make this job less and less attractive.

Arjan* has been working in the road sector for over ten years in German -speaking Switzerland. What weighs it most is extreme warmth, contempt and racism. Fewer and fewer people want to exercise this profession. We give him the floor and he tells. 👇

When you work in an office, you cannot imagine what it is to stay, in full sun, at 35 degrees, in full outfit for hours, without the slightest break.

Standing, sweat is already flowing. And we still have to do intense physical work. I feel that summers become more trying every year. The air gives the impression of being at 45 degrees abroad: heavy, oppressive, almost irrespirable.

As long as the law does not change, the situation will only get worse. Employers are satisfied with the bare minimum; For example, distribute water in summer. In Switzerland, there is currently no “heat leave”. Only Ticino authorizes workers to return earlier when a level three heat wave alert lasts several consecutive days.

The SUVA recommends, from 33 ° C, to take a 15 -minute break in the shade each hour. Our site manager would laugh. A quarter of an hour in the afternoon, that’s the maximum you get. And again, only if we expressly ask for it.

Dangers and the law of the most “hard”

This is particularly trying on days of high heat on the main roads. There, the law forces us to wear long pants.

At the same time, other rules are often ignored as soon as no one looks. No gloves, unsecured sites:

Time is money. Once, I had to descend into an unsecured trench five meters deep. If she had collapsed, I could have died. I refused to do it.

That I already had a herniated disc at the beginning of the twenty, no one has nothing to do. And I’m not the only one.

No wonder many young people no longer want to exercise this profession. Too many rules, too much dirt, too much pain.

And there is also ordinary racism. Site managers who tell stupid jokes. Suprelles who hear my name and immediately ask me where I come from “really”.

A strong lack of recognition

But it is not only the hierarchy that treats us high. Some people drop contemptuous comments by passing, going to their air -conditioned offices. They groan because of road closings. The fact that the rules are applied only to interest them. The fact that we work in heat, either. The fact that we deserve respect – even less. What bothers me is that a lot of people in the office groan on futile subjects, when they have a rather easy life.

I feel that our work is less and less appreciated. In the past, the inhabitants came to thank us more often. They showed their gratitude with coffee in winter, or ice in summer. A “thank you” of an elder who knew what the hard work meant. These gestures are becoming increasingly rare in recent years. But when it happens, it feels good. So, I know that my work has value.

Not everything is bad. I like to be outside. I like the idea of leaving a trace. But it would take more protection, more breaks, more respect. And less indifference.

(*assumed first name)

Translated and adapted by Noëline Flippe