This is the state of toilet facilities on the ADCO Construction's Costco job in our Southern Suburbs.
When we visited this site nearly 2 weeks ago with the CFMEU WA, in regard to a raft of safety concerns, this was found to be the only dedicated toilet available for female workers outside of the main toilet block; located on the other side of site near the crib rooms.
Young female electrical apprentices we spoke with on site had to ask their coworkers to stand guard whilst they went to the toilet.
The Graffiti was removed by Union officials immediately and the toilet supposedly tagged out of service. Fast forward nearly 2 weeks later, and on a return visit to ensure that other issues identified had been fixed up, we discovered that not only was the same toilet still in use with no attempts made to fix it, but it had been moved to a more prominent location on site. This is likely to be the first site these young apprentices have worked on. Unacceptable and undignified to say the very least. It's any wonder why women only make up 2-3% of our trade.
The ETU launched the "Nowhere to Go" report last year to help educate and stamp out these practices in our industry. https://www.etunational.asn.au/nowhere-to-go/
If you are dealing with similar issues please contact your organiser as a matter of priority.
Ash Bamford ETU NW and Apprentice Organiser
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