COMMENTARY

Peter Burgess

In east Java, men climb steep paths carrying heavy loads of sulphur rock from the mouth of a volcano.

http://youtu.be/e4H4W0jiP2w

Filmmaker: Michael Glawogger

'Work is often difficult to see, and therefore difficult to depict. Physical labour is probably the only real kind of work.' Michael Glawogger

Physical work was once celebrated with hymns of praise. But today workers must be content in the knowledge that their hard work is better than no work at all.

Working Man's Death looks at the state of physical work across the world today. Work that is dreary, demanding and, at times, dangerous.

In this episode, we visit east Java in Indonesia, where men climb steep paths amid pungent vapours carrying heavy loads of sulphur rock from the mouth of a volcano to make a living.

It can be dangerous work. As one man says: 'I can tell you exactly how it happened with a friend. He was breaking off chunks of sulphur. He suddenly slipped and fell into the boiling sulphur and was burned to death.'

Source: Al Jazeera