Alongside NHS workers and teachers, delivery drivers were designated as

key workers by the government early on in the pandemic for their role in
keeping the country running. However, those hauling the food to keep
supermarkets stocked, the equipment to keep hospitals running, and the
consumer goods to keep the nation supplied in their homes have warned they
are being denied basic needs by the companies they supply.
That includes the ability to follow the government’s advice to wash their
hands, and stay two metres apart during the hours spent at the distribution
centres they supply.
Coronavirus: London on lockdown
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One multinational firm’s guidance seen by The Independent, aimed at
employees who are told to wear masks and gloves when interacting with
HGV workers, says delivery drivers are not allowed to visit staff toilets or
canteens under company policy. Elsewhere, hauliers claim to have been told
to go out and urinate in the street or defecate in bushes because of immovable
company policies barring the use of bathroom facilities.
Dave Hill, 40, an articulated lorry driver who stays on the road for up to six
days a week before returning home, said his fellow drivers were being
pushed to breaking point by increasing demand and dwindling support from
the firms they deliver to.
“My wife works for the NHS, but she’s fuming because she knows that if we
stop, everything stops,” he said. “Drivers are pretty much cleaning
themselves with wet wipes and washing themselves down with a little bit of
boiled water that they’ve managed to boil in their kettle – because obviously
we’re on the road and when showers and toilets and washbasins aren’t open
you’re just completely stuck.”
The denial of such fundamental services to those who spend so much of their
life on the road would normally be a clear cut breach of workers rights, but
the sudden changes implemented as a result of the virus have sent major
firms into a tailspin as they seek to protect their workplaces and employees.
After Boris Johnson told the country, for the first time, to stay at home,
protect the NHS and save lives, a number of motorway service stations
responded in a way they thought had been responsible, by blocking off
showers. Two days later, urged by transport secretary Grant Shapps to
reopen, many backtracked. “We’re sorry, we misunderstood previous advice
from Department for Transport,” service station operator Roadchef wrote on
social media. “We’re investigating, for your safety, the safe use of shower
facilities in preventing the spread of coronavirus.”