Flushing toilets will soon be a requirement on construction site in B.C. with 25 workers or more.
Premier David Eby announced the change on Monday (Oct. 16), while speaking at a BC Building Trades Council convention in Victoria.
The council, which represents more than 40,000 unionized construction workers, has long been calling for improvements to sanitary conditions on work sites. Last Thursday, it launched its Get Flushed campaign, aimed at replacing porta-potties with flushable toilets.
Workers quoted in the campaign said they sometimes wouldn’t go to the washroom all day because the porta-potties available were so disgusting. An insulator said she found maggots inside the toilets on one occasion, while an ironworker described the conditions as “dehumanizing” and “degrading.”
Speaking Monday, Eby agreed the conditions are unacceptable and promised his government will take action.
“If we want people to work in the trades, if we want to show people that this is a great way to support your family and build your community, the basic ability to go to a bathroom that doesn’t stink, that isn’t a mess, where you can flush a toilet is a basic requirement for a decent job site,” he said to a standing ovation.
Eby hasn’t yet provided a timeline on when the new requirement will come into play. The Ministry of Labour said it is engaging with WorkSafeBC and industry employers and unions to work out how to implement the change.
In a post to social media, the BC Building Trades Council called the announcement “a big day for health and safety, and the dignity of construction workers.”
The council’s executive director Brynn Bourke said they are “pleased with the premier’s responsiveness” to the issue. Speaking at a media availability on rebuilding the construction industry workforce last week, Bourke said she believed having clean washroom facilities is one way B.C. can draw more people into the trades.
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