WEU writes letter to the London Mayor: The lack of toilet facilities for Bus Drivers is just not acceptable

 

Dear Member

The Workers of England Union believes that an appropriate amount of toilet facilities should be available on all bus routes and the lack of toilet facilities for Bus Drivers is just not acceptable. We want Bus companies to make providing access to toilet facilities a priority. We hope you agree with us?

We also believe that the Mayor of London should insist that the Bus companies immediately review the toilet facilities on their routes. That is not a lot to ask of him, is it?

 

We have written to Sadiq Khan , the London Mayor to support our campaign. (Please read the letter below and show it to your colleagues)

 

His office informed us that the letter was received on the 9^th August 2016. The Workers of England Union has telephoned his office on the 12^th August 2016, 18^th August 2016, 23^rd August 2016 to ask that the London Mayor responds to our concerns. Initially on the 23^rd August 2016 we were told that the only action the Mayor of London would do is forward the letter to TFL. We explained that this was just simply passing on his responsibility and was treating your concerns with contempt because Sadiq Khan has appointed himself as Chair of TfL. 
 

He should personally respond to our concerns. However we did not accept this initial response and after lengthy conversations his office has assured us by e-mail that we will receive a response ASAP.

We will keep you updated on the response we get from his office.

Regards

Stephen Morris

General Secretary

Workers of England Union

 

The letter to the Mayor of London

Sadiq Khan
Mayor of London
Greater London Authority
City Hall
The Queen’s Walk
More London
London SE1 2AA

 

Dear Mr Khan,

As the newly appointed Mayor of London I would like to bring to your attention that the bus companies providing routes for commuters into London are not providing adequate toilet facilities for their drivers.

 

We are aware that many of the routes for bus drivers just do not have adequate toilet facilities and I hope you appreciate how desperate some drivers must feel when needing to use the toilet, knowing full well that none are available. I would like to especially highlight the need of female bus drivers.

 

Although we are aware that this has been a long running issue, the Workers of England Union are disgusted that in 21^st Century London, we are still not much further ahead in conditions than in Dickensian times. The Workers of England Union asks that you, as the Mayor of London,  correct this situation and make sure that bus companies provide appropriate toilet facilities for their bus drivers on all routes. After all London is the capital of the 5^th Largest economy in the world so it should not be short of toilets for its bus drivers.

 

For example. here are some places where at night there are no toilets for bus drivers. (Tottenham Court Road, Oxford Circus, Regent Street, Trafalgar Square, Aldwych, Holborn Red lion Square). The full list is much longer.

We are asking that you immediately insist that bus companies undertake a review of the availability of toilets on their routes, along with the timing of breaks on routes.

 

We are more than happy to be involved in monitoring these reviews and would request a meeting to discuss our concerns with you before we launch an online petition calling for proper toilet availability on all bus routes.

 

Yours Sincerely

 

Eddie Bone

Campaign Director

Workers of England