It’s not right that toilet cleaners get verbal abuse
IN this week’s Ashbourne
News Telegraph you will find a story about toilet hours being extended in the Derbyshire Dales.
This is despite claims from the council that various members of staff have been subject to verbal abuse during their shifts.
Assuming for the benefit of the doubt that the abuse was absolutely undeserved, this is simply unacceptable.
It’s rarely okay to verbally abuse anyone going about their jobs, much less someone who is cleaning the toilets that the abuser will no doubt be using themselves.
And we would wager that those same people would be extremely upset if the cleaning did not occur, and the toilet was dirty.
So in a way, these staff just cannot win.
It is of vital importance at the moment that thorough cleaning is done of surfaces that multiple people will touch.
Toilets are a haven for germs and dirt in the best of times, let alone when there is a global pandemic.
Isn’t it more important than ever that we give the cleaners a wide berth and let them do their jobs unassailed?
It is not a glamorous job, but it is absolutely crucial in these trying times that things are cleaned and cleaned well.
And the alternative will be dirty, Covid-infested toilets, or the toilets being shut altogether.
We don’t know about you, but we’d prefer nice, open and clean toilets.
Since May 23, the Dales has seen six formal reports of people “using the street as a toilet”.
Let’s instead use the toilets as a toilet.