TORONTO — The Ontario government intends to introduce legislation that would, if passed, allow delivery workers access to company washrooms at businesses where they are delivering or picking up items.
“This is something most people in Ontario take for granted but access to washrooms is a matter of common decency currently being denied to hundreds of thousands of workers in this province,” said Minister McNaughton. “Workers who deliver and pick up goods have been on the frontlines of the pandemic, ensuring that essential supplies continue to reach the people of Ontario. Providing these hardworking men and women with access to washrooms is a small change that will make a big difference, so they can do their jobs with the dignity and respect they deserve.”
Consultations conducted by the Ontario Workforce Recovery Advisory Committee have indicated that couriers, truck drivers, and people who deliver food, including those for online delivery platform companies are often denied use of a washroom at businesses they serve.
Details were released today by Monte McNaughton, Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development, who was joined by Stan Cho, Associate Minister of Transportation (Transit-Oriented Communities), Deepak Anand, Parliamentary Assistant to Minister McNaughton, and Christine Hogarth, MPP for Etobicoke-Lakeshore.
At the start of the pandemic, the government opened additional rest stops for truck drivers to provide them with more places to safely stop and keep critical products moving. The proposed change is another step by the government to show respect and fairness to hardworking couriers and truck drivers.
