Flushing Toilets for Construction Workers: A Timeline

The road to flush toilets on construction sites was years in the making. This is our story. We hope that it will inspire others to take up the fight around Canada and the U.S.

If you’re looking for more detailed information, be sure to check out our resources page (opens in a new tab).

Construction workers were forced to endure dirty, smelly, overfilled and unlit porta-potties. Construction workers raised concerns about the lack of sanitary facilities at work with the BC Building Trades.

The BC Building Trades launched the Get Flushed campaign to lobby and pressure the B.C. government, demanding that flushing toilets be mandatory on construction sites with 25 workers or more. Our campaign provided facts and figures, and featured individual stories of our members and what it meant to them.

Construction workers sent thousands of letters to B.C. Premier David Eby and the Minister of Labour explaining why it was so important to have flushing toilets on worksites.

We got in the news. We did interviews with major news outlets to spread the word. As more people heard the story, and understood the conditions workers were experiencing, they started sending more letters to the government.

At the same time, we continued to lobby the government, meeting with the Premier, cabinet ministers and MLAs. We also commissioned a report that outlined what needed to be done and why it was important.

After years of advocacy, at the BC Building Trades convention in 2023, Premier David Eby committed to a legal requirement to make flushing toilets mandatory on construction sites with 25 workers or more.

From there, WorkSafeBC drafted regulations and solicited public feedback. We presented at various hearings about the need for flush toilets. During this time, our supporters continued to send letters to Premier David Eby urging immediate implementation of the regulations when they were finalized.

The draft regulations were approved by cabinet, and the new rules came into effect in October 2024 requiring all construction sites with 25 or more workers to provide clean flush toilets and running water.

There is still work to do.

Most employers have accepted the new rules and have put flush toilets and running water on large worksites. But some employers are refusing to follow the law. We’re encouraging workers to file a complaint (opens in a new tab) if that’s the case.

Since the implementation of flush toilets in B.C., building trades from all across North America have reached out to ask how we did it. Check out our resources page (opens in a new tab) if you’re looking for more information on how we successfully fought for flush toilets.