Good news for truck drivers hanging on

AUCKLAND: New Zealand’s truckies say they have finally been given some relief in their battle to find a toilet as they rack up 14hour days transporting essential goods to keep the country running.

Road Transport Forum chief executive Nick Leggett said yesterday Civil Defence emergency management director Sarah StuartBlack told him on Friday it would get councils operating public toilets on key freight routes to open them for drivers.

The same directive was to be issued to service stations.

‘‘At the same time, there was also a directive from Government for service stations to open their facilities to essential workers [to] sell food, but not coffee at this stage.

‘‘I assume that will be at the discretion of service stations and whether they decide to do that.’’

However, it appears service stations do not have any plans to open their facilities to truck drivers, because it was only a ‘‘request’’ and not a mandate.

A Covid19 national response team spokesman said the Department of Internal Affairs and New Zealand Society of

Local Government Management updated their advice to councils on March 27, advising them to close public toilets, ‘‘unless deemed necessary for specific reasons — servicing key public transport and service routes, and essential workers.

‘‘Councils looking to keep their public toilets open were advised to follow bestpractice hygiene and PPE standards and guidance was provided.’’

The issue was discovered on Thursday, the first day of the country’s fourweek minimum lockdown, when truck drivers found the doors closed at all public toilets.

They were also barred from using facilities at service stations, and could no longer get coffee.

Comment has been sought from Local Government New Zealand and confirmation from Ms StuartBlack of her ‘‘request’’.

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) and the Ministry of Transport confirmed it was not an issue they were dealing with.

The NZ Trucking Association and Road Transport Forum had been urgently trying to rectify the situation for its members.

A BP spokesman said the company was in regular contact with MBIE and MPI to ensure it was fully complying with their requirements.

During the Level 4 alert system, BP facilities were only available for its own staff and emergency workers in uniform, he said.

A spokeswoman for Z and Caltex service stations said the Government had ‘‘requested we consider opening our toilets. They have not mandated it’’.

Neither service station group would be serving coffee to any member of the public as per earlier directives from MBIE and MPI who deemed it a ‘‘nonessential service’’.

‘‘We can, however, serve premade hot food, such as pies, with the focus of that service being on essential workers,’’ the spokeswoman said.

‘‘Regarding use of our toilets, we have made the decision to close our toilets to members to ensure our staff, who are also essential workers, are not placed at risk.’’

She acknowledged it was ‘‘a big issue for our truck drivers, and we can confirm that we have been in touch with officials as to how we could provide an alternative solution using our sites’’. — The New Zealand Herald