The cleanliness of toilets for lorry drivers at service stations and truck stops and a shortage of facilities has been criticised by the union Unite.
To mark World Toilet Day (Saturday 19 November) the union released a survey of lorry drivers revealing that most are frequently denied toilet dignity during their working lives.
The survey of 1,700 lorry drivers found that 76% had in the last year experienced a situation when they needed to urgently use a toilet but none was available.
Over one in 10 drivers (11%) said that a lack of access to toilets had resulted in them developing a medical condition or causing a disability.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “These figures are shameful. They demonstrate that not only are lorry drivers routinely denied access to decent clean toilets but problems are getting worse.
“Toilet dignity is a fundamental union demand. No worker should be routinely denied access to a clean toilet. Unite has a zero tolerance approach to any employer denying workers toilet dignity.”
More than a third of drivers (38%) reported that since the Covid pandemic began in 2020, access to toilets has gotten worse. With regard to the state of toilets at service stations and truck stops, drivers reported the greatest problems were cleanliness (44%) and restricted opening times (22%).
Lorry drivers also highlighted that despite the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) establishing clear rules that businesses must allow drivers making deliveries to use their toilets, many are failing to abide by the law.
Just over one in five drivers (22%) said that they were always given access to customer toilets. Nearly a third of drivers (32%) said that access to customer toilets had gotten worse during and since the pandemic.
Unite national officer Adrian Jones said: “It is disgraceful that lorry drivers are being made ill by being denied routine access to toilets.
“A lack of access to toilets is a key reason why workers leave the industry, especially if they have a medical condition. The industry will never become more diverse and be attractive to new entrants until this problem is resolved and toilet dignity becomes mandatory.”
Unite surveyed 1,700 of its members employed as lorry drivers.
World Toilet Day is recognised by the United Nations and highlights the 3.6 billion people who are forced to live with poor quality toilets.
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