In 1961, Spain signed a bilateral agreement with Switzerland that organized the arrival of Spanish workers. They were young people between 25 and 29 years old, 84% men, 70% married, mostly without vocational training. They worked in construction, in the metallurgical industry, in the hospitality industry. 68% came from Galicia according to the data of the time. And they arrived with the status of seasonal worker, the famous saisonnier: contract for a maximum of 8 months a year, without the possibility of automatic renewal, without the right to bring the family for years.
In 1973, Spaniards accounted for 2.22% of the Swiss population, but almost 4% of the workforce. They did a considerable portion of the work that sustained the country's economic growth, lived in barracks or shared accommodations, sent money home, and returned each year as if they were in season. Many took more than a decade to regroup their family, and some never did.
The status of saisonnier did not disappear until 2002, when bilateral agreements between Switzerland and the European Union normalized free movement. Forty years of a system that treated foreign workers as temporary labor, renewable or not according to the economic needs of the country, without too much consideration for what that meant for the families in question.
Today there are around 110,000 Spanish citizens registered in Switzerland. Most came after the 2008 crisis, with a university education, looking for work in sectors completely different from those of the first generation. Two waves, two very different arrival conditions, the same country, and in many cases the same loneliness of the first months. The group has members from both eras. That, when you think about it, says a lot.