The notion of arduous work is one of the points of tension in the pension reform. Théo and Jean-Sébastien, both cross-rippers for two and twelve years respectively, speak frankly about their job. A profession where it is difficult to grow old despite the mechanization of tasks.
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Théo, 22, and Jean-Sébastien, 32, do the same job, they are ripeurs. “Before, we said garbage collectors but it was dirty,” says Jean-Sébastien who sometimes says he suffers from the “non-respect” of people. There are those who honk their horns because the truck is blocking the street at collection time, those who drive off with a bang, razing them, and then those who leave their garbage bag at the foot of the containers, a bag whose contents are then scattered by crows, rats, cats or dogs, and must be picked up by hand.
Every morning from Monday to Friday, they take up their post at 6 a.m. Standing in the back of the truck, they get on and off the running board hundreds of times per shift and each haul eight tonnes of household waste a day.
A physical job that requires being young and in good health. “I have a colleague who has been doing this for forty years! smiles Jean-Sébastien, in office for twelve years.
” Team work “
“One day, someone offered me this job and I took the opportunity,” says the 30-year-old. I wanted to work outdoors rather than being locked up in an office. Same observation for Théo who, after a professional start in the agricultural sector, launched himself.
Not easy at first but in two years, he found his rhythm. “I like the contact, and here, we work as a team”, indicates the young man whose mission consists between March and December in the collection of green waste throughout the Thionville conurbation.
“Repetitive gestures”
Their profession, they have learned to do with and even to love it. “It’s still hard but less than it used to be,” explains Jean-Sébastien. Before, you had to constantly bend down to pick up the bags on the ground. With the arrival of containers, it has become more mechanized. “We do a lot of repetitive gestures: going up, down, pulling, turning,” continues Theo, who is especially afraid of restaurant containers that are heavier than the others.
And who says repetition says physical pain and wear and tear. “It is difficult to grow old in our profession without being broken everywhere: elbows, knees, back, shoulders”, resumes Jean-Sébastien.
However, when we talk about the pension reform with them, they roll their eyes. “It’s still a long way off,” says Theo. “It’s a long way off and, until then, everything could change in one direction or the other,” explains Jean-Sébastien.