Not many sites provide adequate facilities for female workers
Contractor signs up to Unite’s ‘period dignity’ campaign.
Multiplex has become one of the first contractors to sign up to a scheme devised by Unite calling for better welfare units. A survey of Unite’s female construction members found this was a “major issue” for many workers, particularly when they were having their periods.
Members’ responses to the survey included: “The toilets where I’m working are unisex Portaloos. These
are usually disgusting.”
Another said: “One Portaloo. No separate changing facilities. No sanitary product bins or dispensers. Asked for sanitary bins, got ignored. If a female says anything they don’t like, they put it down to PMT.”
The four-point “period dignity” plan asks for companies to ensure:
- Each site or depot has a designated female toilet, which is always accessible, regularly cleaned and lockable;
- Handwashing facilities with running water and soap are provided in all welfare facilities;
- Sanitary bins are provided and they are cleaned and emptied regularly; and
- Sanitary products are provided in a dispenser in a discreet location, free to workers.
Multiplex head of community engagement, Caron Dunlop, said: “At Multiplex, we are committed to providing great workspaces for everyone, which includes making our sites as comfortable for women as they are for men, so supporting the period dignity campaign at our University of Glasgow Campus Development project complements what we currently provide.”
“Our work identifying new ways of improving our workspaces for everyone has recently led to the development of a whole new standard for temporary construction accommodation and offices – Multiplex Better Workspaces – and we are planning to certify all of our sites to this standard by the end of the year.”
Unite said other sites are expected to sign up in the coming weeks.
