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On #WorldToiletDay, transport workers demand decent sanitation facilities

news 18 Nov 2021

The global sanitation crisis affects nearly half of the world's population — and is felt keenly by transport workers who are always on the move.

Help us expose the reality by sharing your story here: itfglobal.org/sanitation

Whether it is breaks too short to get to and from the nearest toilet or a lack of toilets at all, transport workers are routinely subjected to the degrading indignity of being denied something as basic as being able to use a toilet.

For many workers, even where there are toilets they’re able to use, the conditions are repulsive, unsanitary, and unsafe. But these unhygienic conditions aren’t just an insult to workers, they are a serious health risk - both to staff and to customers.

This lack of access and facilities is an issue for all workers, but it is one that is acutely felt by women transport workers. So the struggle around sanitation is also a struggle for women’s place in transport work.

“Far too often these issues can be taboo, or hidden away from sight,” said ITF Women Transport Workers’ Committee Chair Diana Holland. “That’s why, on World Toilet Day, transport workers around the world are saying that enough is enough. Every single worker, in every single workplace, deserves safe access to decent toilets and sanitation facilities.”

As the ITF prepares to launch a major new Sanitation Toolkit on Human Rights Day on December 10th, to help unions and workers fight for their rights to better sanitation facilities, we are exposing just how serious the problem is - and we need your help.

Do you struggle to find a decent toilet while you're at work? Does your workplace not have the facilities you need? Are you penalised or prevented from using the toilet? Or has your employer taken positive steps to provide access to toilets and the sanitation facilities that you need?

Share your story with us - you can also upload pictures or video footage of the facilities at your workplace: itfglobal.org/sanitation

Your stories will form part of our campaign to ensure that all transport workers have access to toilets as a fundamental right at work. Together we can make it impossible to ignore

ON THE GROUND