Above “step”, the city looks uglier than ever, and fatigue is great at any time of the day. The back hurts from heavy weights, the body suffers from cold or heat, constant “stop start” it also brings uniformity to familiar places. This is, of course, broken by constant stand next to for some negligent driver or pedestrian – honking, cursing.

Basically, however, dirt – boxes, food waste, half-empty coffee, discarded Self assessment test syringes, leaflets, napkins, broken glasses. This is the most unhealthy and contagious work of the state, service that works 24 hours a dayor under the heat that makes the smell away garbage even more intense, either “shaving” cold, or rain.

“Cleanliness is half of nobility,” the Greeks say. It’s actually a continuum “write delete”. A game which every day starts over, several times in one day all hours of the day. Garbage collection (simple and trash cans), street sweeping, sweeping, washing streets and sidewalks, all over again.

Streets, sidewalks, parks and cemeteries don’t magically clean up :pperhaps from the cleanliness of each quarter there is a plan and basically there is people. It is they who take care of the cleanliness of cities, knowing in some cases the contempt of fellow citizens.

Ethese are people who live on the basic government salary and allowance for the sick and unhealthy if they are permanent or maximum 700 euros if contracted. Some do (violations) and other jobs to make ends meet. “Usually these are people in need, oldersometimes they also have disabilities, comorbidities,” she notes in “TO” Dimitris Antonos, President of the Cleaning Association of the Municipality of Athens EEDA.

Behind the clean face of Athens

OUR Antonis Karatinas is collection officer for A’ Dapartment of the municipality of Athens. Together with his colleagues, he developed cleaning programs for center of Athens: from which points vehicles will be collected, which route they will follow, how many times a day and at what time they will leave, at what time hotels and businesses in the center will hand over their waste.

Beginning with warehouse in Eleonas around 8 pm on a quiet Tuesday, we arrive in the Omonia area without any problems. In general, since this is a daily, the amount of work is not great. In his company car, Mr. Karatinas travels through all his districts. A’ Apartment and consults with other workers about points that need additional “combing”, for example, something has fallen from a garbage truck and a smaller street sweeper needs to drive through to pick it up.

The municipality of Athens has great needs. According to Dimitris Antonos, in addition to 700,000 permanent residents of, they pass daily millions of people from other areas. We also add to them tourists, as well as immigrants and homeless people in the center of the capital. Union Cleanliness of the Municipality of Athens EEDA, of which he is president has 2200 members. In these, it means correspond waste from millions of visitors in an area of ​​about 38 square kilometers of the municipality of Athens.

The programs developed by Mr. Karatinas for the 1st apartment include a complete cleaning 5-6 times a day. Some days are worse than others (eg Sunday when the market behind Omonia is difficult), some areas are “easier” (eg Kolonaki and Karagiorgi in Serbia compared to Metaxourgio and Omonia).

One of the problems that Athens mostly faces is that they exist quarters – “non-residential”. On the streets of Geraniou, Anaxagora, Satovriandos and Hieroteu in the evening, municipal employees they collect syringes near people using or pissing behind trash cans. Sometimes they witnessed cases of violence between foreigners or they themselves were threatened by people under the influence of substances.

In other areas with more narrow streetsescort and driver may be needed for lifting IX vehicles to get past the garbage truck.

But what worries me the most is other drivers. “The worst thing that can happen is accidents. You gotta keep your wits about you all the time“, He speaks the garbage collection manager of the 1st district of the municipality of Athens, while a motorcycle passes “just right” by his colleague collecting garbage, and hurrying drivers from behind honk.

Job hazards

Pi10 days ago one checked in tragic and unprecedented incident in Xylokastro: A 45-year-old garbage truck was hit by a drunk driver. As it turned out, the entire crew of the garbage truck was uninsured and without a contract. The contract for only five days was placed in Diaugia and Ergani one day after the death of the unfortunate woman.

Shortly before Christmas, there was another incident with car to drag the cleaning lady on Lavriu Avenue again. The unfortunate man had one leg amputated and many days later he is still fighting for his life in the intensive care unit.

FROMAccording to him Vassilis Petropoulos, Head of DAS-OTA and Member of the POE-OTA Executive Committee, OTA workers are among those most likely to experience workplace accidents. “Since 2014 we count 64 dead and 102 wounded cleaners in Greece“, he notes, and for this reason he requests cars to accompany garbage trucks in all municipalities.

ANDaccidents can happen to the maintenance personnel of garbage trucks and when handling a trash caneither by negligence or if something goes wrong resulting in the release of hazardous substances or even the amputation of a finger.

Responsibilities fall on the entire crew. OUR guide checks the vehicle before starting (oils, headlights, system operation), keeps in mind those behind, maneuvers the vehicle to enter difficult roads, must drive slowly (some vehicles have a “cutter”). companions signal to vehicles behind where the vehicle is turning, be careful not to fall, they never turn their backs completely.

Old cars, insufficient protection measures

Tthe problem with cleanliness is that every municipality faces different problems and Consequently different solutions are needed. As we have seen in the center of Athens, there is a problem of waste volume due to the large population, traffic on the streets and petty crime.

AT provinces and small communities the main problem is the lack of resources, which mainly translates into fleet aging. “There is obsolescence in the fleets, they do not receive cars, so old cars circulate. This poses a danger to citizens as well,” notes the President of POE-OTA, Nikos Trakas.

In the municipality of Xylokastro, where a 45-year-old woman was involved in an accident, there are fewer than 10 vehicles and only the oldest one is operating, while all others are damaged, according to Marco Dardamanipresident of POP-OTA.

FROMat this point, pathogens come and go, affecting all the municipalities of Greece as a whole, such as bureaucracy and opaque contests. It is possible both to buy a car and to repair it. or municipality workshop (with any possibilities), or local repair shop or be offered by individuals.

The same goes for celebrities. personal protective equipment (masks, gloves, reflective vests, pharmacies in cars) about which the representatives of the OTA workers are constantly “shouting”. Some municipalities are standard in what they provide to their cleaners, but many of them they cannot afford frequent tenders for the purchase of personal protective equipment.

Vicious cycle of stress

The last Catholic problem is her understaffing. With the old age of cleaners (some permanent workers have been working for almost 30 years), working in difficult and dangerous conditions, performing physical labor, it is no coincidence that their representatives ring the “bell” of danger.

Cleaners suffer from stress due to working conditions, they are very often lower back painstanding face to face and heart and breathing problems. Although the majority of workers are men, there are also women who have to face the same burden.

It is noted that dit’s not a rare occurrence, especially in the provinces, but also in Western Attica, so that people in need go to the municipalities and ask for work in cleaning, with or (more rarely) without a contract, to earn a living. As the representatives of the OTA federations noted in “K”, although it’s illegal and generally not commonin small communities local elected officialshe continue to work with such violations contracts with individuals.

Quite a few of them Rmy God, like uninsured a woman who met a tragic death in Xylokastro. “People from minorities, marginalized people turn to municipal authorities and they often object of operation“, Pdecreases Vassilis Petropoulos of DAS-OTA.

For their part, the municipalities turn to private individuals because recruitment is planned for 2018.. And since, as already mentioned, the work of a cleaner is usually interested in older people, some of those who were hired 5 years ago have already retired.

“Not always respected 1:1 in these positions. Someone can leave cleaning and be hired in another sector of the municipality. There is no municipality whose organizational structure is completely covered,” comments Markos Dardamanis from POP-OTA.

Meanwhile, the municipalities are coping. contract holders or unemployed through UAED. Mr. Petropoulos notes that it is no coincidence that most accidents involve contractors who are either more inexperienced (any experience is acquired in the process of work), or simply live in constant stress that one day they will be out of a job. All is one vicious circle…

OUR Nikos Georgiougarbage truck driver in the municipality of Paiana, started his job in 2009 as a contract cleaner and managed, after long legal battles, to become permanent after 10 years.

At that time, 38 year old never worked in the municipality on cleaning, never he did other jobs as well, such as delivery boy, storekeeper, bakery worker. ANDforced to leave plans for her have a family until it finds something stable.

FROMso why did he work so hard for a job that everyone underestimates? “I wanted to have a reliable income, stability. I couldn’t run from one job to another. On the street, I see something new every day,” he says. garbage truck driver.