A woman has criticized Switzerland for “exploiting seasonal workers” after she was twice fired from a hotel and bar in the county.
Nila Marino, from Cape Town, traveled to the Swiss Alps at the end of November hoping to stay for the next few months and get a job there.
In early January, Nila started a new job at a bar in Wengen, Switzerland, after being laid off from another place in a nearby ski town.
“My time here has been a shit show, to put it lightly,” he said. The travel influencer started working as a waitress in a hotel restaurant in Vangen, which she liked at first.
He said his team was “really good” and described his manager as “amazing.” But after about 10 days, Nila, who said she always wanted to be a YouTuber, said her shifts were too difficult for her.
Nila Marino, from Cape Town, traveled to the Swiss Alps in late November hoping to stay the next few months and get a job there, but instead she was fired twice.
“It was exhausting, I didn’t have a single day off when I was there, it was the busiest period,” he said.
‘Honestly, I was struggling a lot at that job because I was doing split shifts. She would do it early in the morning and then finish late too.’
Nila was then fired because she wasn’t “enthusiastic” enough and found another job at Wengen’s bar.
But when she started, Nila said she faced the difficult task of serving more tourists than usual because of a ski competition.
He said because it was “so busy,” the owners brought in more workers to help that week alone, one of whom included his daughter.
‘I thought your daughter was very nice and I got on very well with her. But after a few days I started to notice that she had really strange moods.
‘I would say something to her and she barely responded and I felt a very strange vibe from her. ‘
Nila said she proceeded to ignore her, adding that starting that week was a challenge because there were “a lot of Swiss people.”
“Not speaking German was very difficult because they were very rude and I had to learn a lot of Swiss drinks. “All the beers were in German, so there was a lot to learn.”
The 27-year-old said she thought she did “very well” and learned “a lot” in the short time she was there.
Nila said she was fired from the hotel restaurant because she wasn’t “enthusiastic” enough.
She then found out from her housemate that her daughter was “gossiping” about her at work and said that Nila was “too slow” at her job, which was also later repeated by her boss.
The following week, Nila said she felt sick and only worked three days because the business closed for a day and she took a day off sick.
‘That week, my manager basically chatted with me and criticized everything I was doing.
‘He told me I was too slow and asking too many questions. Apparently they couldn’t answer all the questions he asked them, something they had never said to me in my life. A new job and I can’t ask questions?
Nila claims she felt “unwanted” and had the feeling they wanted to fire her. She later said that the company “used her” to cope with that busy week, stating that this was “common in Switzerland.”
The TikTok influencer said they made up a “ton of excuses” about why they had to let her go and she criticized the country for its treatment and “exploitation of seasonal workers.”
‘It’s fucking horrible. I’m so disappointed in Switzerland that I thought it would be completely different.
Nila said she was later fired from a bar in Wengen because she was “too slow” and asked “too many questions.”
Users took to her clips to comment on their views on the situation, with some saying they could relate to how she felt.
“Nobody gives a damn about you, they treat you like absolute shit and I’m fucking tired of it, I think it’s pretty clear.”
Nila said her landlord offered her to keep her house and continue renting it because “they’re not going to hire anyone else.”
But he said he’s not actively looking for another job and is instead asking people he knows if anything is available.
‘If I could find work for another month, that would be fantastic. Part of me is so ready to go and get the hell out of here because my mental health has taken its toll over the past two months. “I’m fine, but it’s been difficult.”
Users took to her clips to comment on their views on the situation, with some saying they could relate to how she felt.
One wrote: “Same thing: I was fired after only two weeks in Switzerland and I still don’t know why, but I also thought it would happen as it should.”
Another wrote: “Swiss-Germany is well known for being very harsh and unfriendly people… just come to the French side, you’ll have a good time!”
A third said: ‘There are Swiss here! Come to Basel, it’s much more international and we’re calm!’
A fourth commented: ‘It’s the mentality of employers here. They don’t treat me any differently. It’s not you, it’s them.