Women's power in garbage disposal: On the way to more women in a profession dominated by men

Women's power in garbage disposal: On the way to more women in a profession dominated by men

women conquer the garbage worker industry - a new era in Berlin's city cleaning (BSR)

Franziska Schmidt, a garbage worker at the Berlin city cleaning (BSR), is an expert in garbage. She has been working in this male -dominated industry for five years and has set itself the task of managing garbage in Berlin. Together with 26 other women and hundreds of men, she works at the forefront in this dirty and demanding job. The BSR spokeswoman Susanne Jagenburg proudly reports that she is very satisfied with the female employees and would like to hire more women.

In order to win over more women for the profession of garbage, the BSR regularly organizes trial days on its depot in Schmargendorf. At such an appointment, Franziska Schmidt, together with her colleagues, informs about three dozen interested women about the job. It is striking that these women are all very attractive and between 30 and 40 years old. Franziska Schmidt patiently answers all questions and provides information about your work, in which you have to manage around 1.3 million tons of household waste a day.

One of the interested women is Angelique Baumer. She is already used to smelly smells because she wraps a child every day. She is currently working in the supermarket, but due to the non -family -compatible working hours, she is looking for a new professional challenge. After all, it also stinks at her current workplace, but it cannot be put off by it. Franziska Schmidt and Angelique Baumer exchange their knowledge of stinking waste and maggots while Franziska Schmidt presents their well -groomed and ordinary hands.

The BSR's decision to hire women as garbage workers only fell five years ago. The company's press spokeswoman cannot say exactly why it took so long, although the competence for this type of work in women is undoubtedly. Marcel Jäger, member of the BSR staff council, sums up the gender question: "Who can-why not?". There were some starting difficulties between the new and the older employees, but after a restructuring of the teams, the discrepancies would have subsided quickly.

Franziska Schmidt was there from the start when the first 15 garbage workers were discontinued in 2018. A colleague initially had doubts whether she would do the job. But now he is impressed by her performance. Franziska Schmidt is happy about this open recognition and emphasizes that it is her dream job. She loves working in the fresh air and doing physically active work. She also appreciates the comradely tone among colleagues.

Work begins Monday to Friday at 5.30 a.m. on the depot, from which the garbage trucks start. Together with a driver and two other employees, they collect the garbage in the containers. For Franziska Schmidt, it was initially difficult to get used to this early start of work because she had previously worked as a bouncer at night. But she realized that she could not continue working in this rhythm all her life. When she found out about the search for garbage workers on the radio, she was immediately enthusiastic and applied.

If you want to become a garbage, you definitely need physical strength. Although you don't see Franziska Schmidt, it is strong enough for this demanding work. Marcel Jäger emphasizes that it is a difficult job. The layer lasts seven to eight hours and includes the up and down and downward-up of 240-liter containers that weigh up to 80 kilos, as well as 120-liter tons that weigh up to 50 kilos. Every day the garbage workers cover about twelve to fifteen kilometers, regardless of the weather conditions.

Another challenge is to deal with the citizens. The garbage workers often stand in front of parked cars, as this is often the only possible place. But this increasingly leads to impatient statements and insults on the part of the passers -by. Some drivers block the sidewalk to make space for maneuvering, which is a great risk for pedestrians. Marcel Jäger wants more understanding from the citizens.

Despite some challenges, the garbage workers also appreciate a lot of appreciation. Children and dogs in particular are often happy when they see the garbage and see the garbage workers as heroes.

If you pass the recruitment test, which contains fitness exercises such as rowing, cross trainer and abdominal press, you can start gross with a salary of 3,150 euros. It is also allowed and common to give the employees of the BSR tip of five euros.