Picture this... it's 1pm on a Friday, and you're busting to go pee. You dash down to the toilets and find each cubicle is full and a few are out of order. You patiently wait for your turn, and jump for joy when a cubicle becomes vacant. Walking inside, you see urine on the floor, a toilet clogged full of paper and other miscellaneous items, and a flush button that's taped up because it doesn't work.

Not a pretty image? That's what so many staff and customers of Bathurst City Centre have to deal with on a daily basis.

As an employee at Bathurst City Centre, I find myself constantly hoping that the public bathrooms are clean and accessible.

The reality is often far from it. 

After being wiped out by gastro TWICE in 3 months from Bathurst City Centre, I've decided that we (the staff) deserve seperate toilets.

Bathurst City Centre is home to over 30 stores. Assuming each store has an average of 3 employees per store (excluding Woolies and JB), there is over 100 staff each day needing to relieve themselves. All 100 staff are forced to share a total of 8 cubicles and three urinals with all the customers visiting this centre.

In short, that's around 100 staff each day, needing to use a clean, safe, and reliable bathroom multiple times per day.

And what is the condition of these toilets?

• leaking
• overflowing
• clogged
• out of order for no apparent reason
• toilets and floors covered in human waste
• broken doors
• flooded bathrooms
• no hot water
• no soap
• women's sanitary items in unsanitary locations
• irregular cleaning

And it gets worse...

If you unfortunately need to use these toilets at midday during the holiday season, you can enjoy waiting up to 10 minutes in a queue.

And once you've finished your business? There's no hot water on tap, so you must wash your hands in cold water; two of the three taps require you to hold them while you wash your hands; and the soap dispensers are often malfunctioning or empty.

Let me ask you this...

How are staff and customers able to practice hygiene in these conditions?
This is a situation no one should have to endure while at their place of work.

This isn't just about comfort; it's about basic human rights and dignity at work. According to Safe Work Australia guidelines, employers must provide clean toilet facilities for their workers (Safe Work Australia).

Yet here we stand, praying that someone hasn't left the only available dunny clogged and overflowing.

It's not just staff that are complaining either, customers are frequently expressing their disgust to each other, and to shop employees, asking where to find centre management to lodge their complaints.

It's time we demand better working conditions for retail workers at Bathurst City Centre, and for the valued customers that shop at our local businesses!

Sign this petition today if you believe every worker deserves access to clean and safe bathroom facilities at their workplace.