The dirty side of building sitesBuilding contractors are required by law to provide toilets at construction sites but few do so. Contractors defy sanitation bylaws Many labourers employed at building sites relieve themselves in open areas because of a lack of toilets offered by employers undeterred by municipal bylaws.According to City of Windhoek spokesperson Lydia Amutenya, failure to provide workers with adequate toilet facilities is illegal.
She said Windhoek contractors are aware of local regulations and inspection standards, which stipulate that contractors must install temporary toilet facilities.
In addition, urinating and defecating in public is public indecency and is regarded as an offence, she said. The practice also poses a health hazard, Amutenya said.
Legal Assistance Centre attorney Corinna van Wyk said: “By law employers are to provide their employees with clean facilities. It is their right to dignity and their right to a clean environment.”
Van Wyk warned that not only are proper, clean and working sanitation facilities on site critical for individuals, “but it remains important insofar as polluting the environment and therefore making it unhealthy for everyone else to live in”.
Justina Jonas, general secretary of the Metal and Allied Namibian Workers Union (Manwu), said a lack of toilets and poorly maintained toilets are a common problem.
She said the union regularly receives complaints in this regard.
Nevertheless, the municipality this week said that most contractors adhere to the rules, otherwise they would fail their inspections.
However, a building contractor who spoke to Namibian Sun, and asked that his name be withheld, admitted that he does not provide toilets at building sites.
“I’ve been in the business for ten years, and I used to supply toilets. But I stopped when I noticed that people were either not using them or because the toilets were not kept clean.”
He added despite making an effort to provide facilities, some employees “were just not interested”.
According to the municipal regulations, however, contractors must provide “sufficient and convenient latrine accommodation” to workmen as well as ensure that the facilities are “kept in a clean and tidy condition”.
A visit this week to five building sites in the Kleine Kuppe suburb found that only one site offered toilet facilities.
Labourers at the other sites told Namibian Sun that they relieve themselves in the veld, situated close to a school and homes.
At the compliant site, the health and safety officer said the construction company took pride in providing clean and well-maintained toilet facilities, including employing an on-site cleaning and plumbing crew.
He acknowledged that many building sites do not comply with municipal bylaws in this regard.
He said although some companies offer portable toilets, often no cleaners are employed.
“We have noted that often only one toilet is provided for many workers at a site. And these facilities are usually not maintained as they should be,” Manwu’s Jonas said.
She added that when toilets are provided, women often have to share toilets with men.
Jonas said while many blame Chinese contractors for not making much effort to improve these conditions, the building project clients should shoulder some of the blame.
“They do not inspect these sites to check on the workers’ welfare. It would help if the clients do inspections and demand progress reports that provide feedback on the welfare of workers, including the provision of basic things like ablution facilities.”
Several questions were sent to the Construction Industries Federation (CIF), which failed to respond by the time of going to press.
JANA-MARI SMITH