Unite, one of the largest trade unions in the UK, are to lobby MPs and councillors in Kent as part of a campaign to ensure that decent facilities for lorry drivers will be installed at Brexit lorry parks in time for January 1st 2021.
Unite argue that there has been “a lack of information” about what welfare facilities will be available for professional lorry drivers at the parks, four of which are to be built in Kent.
The trade union say that decent and clean toilets and washing facilities with hot and cold running water are especially important. They also add that there should be provision of hot food and areas for drivers to relax outside their lorries to combat the dangers of fatigue.
The portaloos the government have promised to provide have been described as “entirely inadequate” by the union.
Unite regional officer Phil Silkstone added that the lorry parks present a “huge public issue” that is especially important given the coronavirus pandemic:
“Unite will not allow MPs and councillors to look the other way as lorry drivers are denied basic rights. This is a huge public health issue, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic. Unless there are adequate welfare facilities then it is inevitable that the local environment will be damaged. The government has had years to plan for how transport will be managed post-Brexit but it has singularly failed to do so. The health and safety of drivers must not be put at risk as a result of the government’s failings.”
Photo credit: John Lucas Geograph UK
