Working in construction is hard work. Construction workers have to cramp in snow and rain, carry heavy loads and often spend very long working days. By the time Büezer Stephan Hölzl (42) of Rapperswil SG and Heinz Töngi (57) of Winterthur ZH found time for a scenic meeting, it was already 6 pm in front of the Zurich Volkshaus. The alarm clock woke him up at 5:15 am. Now they come straight from the construction site. You look tired and actually prefer to be on your way home. But there is something more important to them today.
For Hölzl, Töngi and their colleagues, as there is so much at stake on the construction site: their job could turn into an even bigger cramp in the future. According to the unions, the Swiss Builders Association (SBV) demands a maximum working time of 58 hours per week (including travel to the construction site) in negotiations for a new national framework agreement (LMV). “If this is really the case, there will be a series of divorces among construction workers. A family life is already difficult and then it will no longer be possible,” says Töngi. He now has a grown son.
The social partners in the construction industry actually want the same thing: that construction work is more in line with family life and that older workers are kept on site. However, craftsmen and unions use very different methods to achieve these goals.
This is how the demands of builders with more flexible working time planning and modern working time models can be summarized. This means that construction workers’ working hours must be delayed shortly if the weather is too cold, rainy or too hot, or other factors delay construction. Also, “contemporary working models are needed to retain older workers and professionals in general,” the craftsmen’s association writes.
Unions, on the other hand, are demanding “more planning ability to protect health and family life”. In addition, all travel time to the job site should also be counted as working time in the future. For this, they demand wage increases that “take into account inflation and the performance of construction workers.”
The social partners in the construction industry actually want the same thing: that construction work is more in line with family life and that older workers are kept on site. However, craftsmen and unions use very different methods to achieve these goals.
This is how the demands of builders with more flexible working time planning and modern working time models can be summarized. This means that construction workers’ working hours must be delayed shortly if the weather is too cold, rainy or too hot, or other factors delay construction. Also, “contemporary working models are needed to retain older workers and professionals in general,” the craftsmen’s association writes.
Unions, on the other hand, are demanding “more planning ability to protect health and family life”. In addition, all travel time to the job site should also be counted as working time in the future. For this, they demand wage increases that “take into account inflation and the performance of construction workers.”
Across Switzerland, construction workers are taking to the streets against the builders’ demands. It was in Valais last Saturday, followed by colleagues from northwest Switzerland on Tuesday. The protest day in Zurich is scheduled for Friday, November 11th.
Transportation from the company headquarters to the construction site is not included.
“In the future, too, the maximum weekly working time in the main construction trade should be 48 hours,” says SBV Director Bernhard Salzmann (42). Currently, 45 hours plus a maximum of 3 hours of overtime are allowed.
SBV wants to include this overtime in regular working hours. And a maximum of 10 hours of travel time per week in SBV are not currently counted as official working hours. This was not declared generally applicable by the federal government during the current LMV. If you add in the trips, people from Büezer will now work up to 11 hours and 36 minutes a day without overtime – including the journey from the stand to the jobsite and back.
Two-hour travel times are quite common on construction sites: Hölzl and Töngi currently work on construction sites more than an hour away from the company headquarters. At the construction site, the first half hour of travel time belongs to Büezer, only then is it written off. This arrangement also applies to temporary workers, but most are paid nothing.
Working in the rain and snow
Büez on construction has gotten more difficult in recent years. “The pressure on the construction site is much higher than before,” says Hölzl. He and Töngi have been working as moldmakers and masons for decades, and they know what they’re talking about. There are no more comfortable stages. Tight timing leads to part work and lower quality. And there is often no time for practical apprenticeships. “You always have to work to the limit. The mood among the workers suffers as a result,” says Hölzl.
Despite the wind and constant rain, Töngi had to work on a high-rise construction site at an altitude of 80 meters on Monday. It rained completely, as he said: “In the past you would go home on a day like this, but today that is no longer the case.” Due to climate change, “full throttle” is now the topic of the day in construction.
Even when there is no wind, rain and snow, it gets harder: “The older I get, the more tired I get on the weekends. In the meantime, I want to rest all Saturday and sleep until noon,” says Töngi.
temporarily at risk
Hölzl is in slightly better shape, although he is 15 years younger. He’s at home at 6:30 p.m. on weekdays and still plays with his three-year-old son when he’s tired. As soon as the little one sleeps, he eats and takes a shower. Now he has drawn a conclusion from this and has reduced the workload to 80 percent. “I want to see how my son grows, it’s more important to me than money,” she says.
The physical wear and tear of construction workers is great. Despite Töngi having an artificial knee joint, he is still in great shape for his age. Otherwise, it would temporarily run into trouble. “I consciously work as a temporary employee because if it doesn’t suit me anymore, I can leave.” Töngi and Hölzl are, as they say, very satisfied with their current employer.
However, not all construction workers can say the same for their employers. For example, many prefer a permanent position. But construction companies are hiring more and more temporary workers to kick them out in the winter.
Low wages develop for older Büezern
The unions complain that in the current negotiations the masters are now also attacking the protection against the ex-Buezer’s dismissal. These should be easier to terminate and also be able to be reduced to lower wage brackets in old age. “I could understand that employers no longer give pay increases to older workers with physical complaints,” Töngi says. After all, companies are under tremendous pressure when it comes to margins. However, it is not possible to cut the salaries of the elderly,” he said. After all, they would have laid their bones for companies for decades.
SBV Director Bernhard Salzmann says: “SBV wants to keep older skilled workers in the labor market and not worsen working conditions. It is important to highlight this, especially given the current shortage of skilled workers.” The Solothurn builders’ association has expressed itself somewhat less diplomatically on this issue recently: the cantonal association “Solothurner Zeitung” argued that the possibility of classifying the elder Büezer into a lower wage class could secure jobs.
Töngi will retire in a little over two years. “I don’t feel sorry for it anymore,” she says. However, he hopes that working conditions in the construction industry will improve again in the future, thus making them more attractive to young workers.
Martin Schmidt
Source :Blick
I’m Tim David and I work as an author for 24 Instant News, covering the Market section. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, my mission is to provide accurate, timely and insightful news coverage that helps our readers stay informed about the latest trends in the market. My writing style is focused on making complex economic topics easy to understand for everyone.
