Narrow barracks where there are too many people, overflowing urinals, dirty toitois and far and wide neither toilet paper nor soap or disinfectant: in the past two days, dozens of messages and pictures of construction workers concerned with the conditions have been reached in 20 minutes Complaining on construction sites.
“The federal government’s statement that the hygiene measures for protection against the corona virus can be easily adhered to on construction sites is completely unrealistic,” writes a construction worker. “We infect each other here, then go home to our families and nobody cares,” says another. “It’s shameful,” another. Instead of disinfectant, there is a bucket with an “aggressive red cleaning paste” on a construction site, writes a construction worker. “People put their hands in there because there is no soap.”
Unia demands the closure of other construction sites
Unia is also currently receiving countless inquiries from construction workers: “Federal measures cannot be implemented in many places,” says Serge Gnos, communications manager at the union. In addition to hygiene, space is a problem above all: “The workers drive eight to the construction site in a minibus, the minimum distance cannot be maintained,” says Gnos. In the break and meeting rooms too many people are often in a small space. This is also shown by pictures that were given 20 minutes.
The canton of Geneva decided on Wednesday to close all construction sites. Unia demands the same for the canton of Zurich, Eastern Switzerland and Graubünden: «The construction workers no longer want to accept this unnecessary danger to themselves and society. They are calling on the government council to finally intervene, »it said in a message on Wednesday. Thomas Maag, media spokesman for the Zurich construction department, says the government has not yet dealt with the petition and is currently adhering to the federal guidelines. It is still unclear when the Zurich government will handle the petition.
“It would be fatal for the trade”
The solution that Unia proposes is not well received by the industry: “That would be a disaster for our members,” says Peter Baeriswyl, director of the Swiss Association of Painters and Plasterers. «More than 90 percent of orders in our industry come from private individuals. Painters and plasterers often work alone or in very small teams on construction sites, and adhering to the measures is no problem at all. » But if all the work had to be stopped, it would be a threat to the very existence of many companies, says Baeriswyl.
According to current figures from the Swiss Association of Master Builders (SBV), more than 220,000 people work in the construction industry in Switzerland. “Your health and the containment of the virus must be ensured with hygiene measures and organizational adjustments,” says SBV spokesman Matthias Engel. Construction site closures should only be checked and agreed in consultation with the building owners if there is no other solution at all.
«Construction is an important pillar of the economy. With an undifferentiated closure of all construction sites, thousands of jobs and apprenticeships would be endangered, »says Engel. According to Engel, decommissioning all construction sites would also affect society as a whole: “Hospitals, school buildings, streets and other important infrastructure projects would be delayed. The procedure decided by the Federal Council is more differentiated and better. »
The federal government has not yet decided
One of the largest construction sites in Switzerland is currently the one at Zurich Airport. HRS Real Estate AG builds The Circle there. Up to 1,300 people work on the construction site every day. Hans Klaus, spokesman for HRS, says: «We are aware of the difficulties on the construction sites. Federal measures, if at all, are very difficult to implement. Nevertheless, we try everything to protect the workers. » The HRS cannot decide on its own to close the construction site: “In principle, the client must do this, in this case the airport or the canton of Zurich.”
Klaus would welcome a reaction from the authorities. He argues for an intermediate route: “The authorities should quickly rethink which construction sites the measures can still be followed. This is the only way to protect workers adequately. » If this is not possible, according to Klaus, the building owner or the authorities would have to order a closure. According to Klaus, the spread of the virus could be slowed down without having to completely shut down the business. The Confederation has not commented on the topic since its press conference on Tuesday.
(dgr)
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