UNIONS published research today on World Toilet Day, uncovering shocking failures in the provision of adequate facilities with women in particular “failed every day.”

An RMT survey of overhead line patrol workers on the railways shows that only 3 per cent always have access to a toilet within a reasonable distance.

Testimonies revealed how women were hit particularly hard by the lack of facilities, and that in one case, a worker was offered a “she wee and a mini tent.”

One respondent said: “For women on the railway there isn’t enough sanitary waste bins … it’s quite literally impossible to go to the toilet unless it’s in a shop or restaurant.”

Another wrote: “We have female staff that actively limit their consumption of fluids to negate the need to use a bathroom on site.”

Overall, 97 per cent of workers said they must rely on public toilets in petrol stations or fast-food sites.

Some 68 per cent reported health problems such as dehydration, infections and fatigue that they believe are linked to poor welfare.

RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey said: “Women working on our railways are being failed every day.

“These failures break the law, put people at risk and they strip our members of their most basic dignity.”

Research by Unite also found that more than half (222) of the 420 bus routes it analysed have no toilets.

Meanwhile, 138 have no bathroom facilities at the end of the route and 77 don’t have any at the beginning.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “It is outrageous that the majority of routes do not have toilets. The right to a toilet at work is a basic human one and should be a given for all workers.”