An Irish construction worker has called out his Australian colleagues for being “soft”, claiming they ditch the site for the pub at the first sign of rain.
The Irish expat shared his unfiltered opinion while standing on an empty construction site beneath a grey sky.
He claimed Australian construction workers were “terrified of the rain”, saying they flee the site after a “couple of spits”.
“As an Irish lad working in the construction industry here in Australia, I’ve learned one thing about Aussie construction workers,” the man said.
“They’re going very soft. Terrified of the rain.”
“As soon as there’s a couple of spits out of the sky, that’s it, they’re out the door and into the pub.”
“And they say they love the water, they’re all about the surfing and whatnot, but if the water’s falling out of the sky, they are terrified of it.”
He added the construction site would still be “packed” with “fellas with their shirts off” if he was back in Ireland.
“If this construction site was in Ireland, with this amount of rain, this place would be packed,” he said.
“There’d be fellas with their shirts off and everything. They would be thinking, ‘a bit of warm water never harmed anyone’.”
The man revealed another reason Australian workers leave the site was heat.
He said when the temperature gauge gets too high, workers leave.
“And if it get’s too hot as well, they’ll go home.”
“’38 [degrees celcius] and out the gate’ they’ll say.”
He boldly claimed this was one of the reasons for Australia’s housing crisis.
“No wonder there’s a housing crisis here in Australia,” he said.
“Every time a drip falls out of the sky, they pack up their utes.”
The post received backlash from hundreds of Australians, with some citing safety protocols as the reason workers leave sites during poor weather.
“It’s all safety. Just think of it that way,” one person commented.
“Also, we have a lot of younger apprentices on site too who have little experience, so this is why we have these procedures in place.”
Others explained the power tools are “not water proof” and the rain can damage building materials.
“Power tools are not water proof, and sometimes they don’t work in the heat due to concreting,” another person wrote.
“Plus, if it’s starting to rain and they start a house, it can stuff it.”
Others disputed the man’s comments entirely.
“38 our the gate? Three months into my first job, I was in the 50-degree factory,” one person wrote.
“What do you mean 38 and pack up and go home? I was an electrical (solar) apprentice for four years. We never stop working even if it hits 44,” another person said.
“Not all construction workers. My husband works rain, hail or shine,” another commented.
“The only thing that stops him is if the swells are too high or the lightning is too close.”
“Um no. My husband is in construction and he works in the rain and the heat,” wrote a fourth.