To avoid the toxicity and pollution of tampons or pads, many are now leaning towards menstrual panties. Thanks to them, women also avoid having to change so regularly, a sometimes unmanageable inconvenience. The drivers of freight trains (goods trains), for example, have so little access to the toilets that it becomes unbearable for them. So much so that they have been campaigning for years with the SNCF to obtain better working conditions.
Offer menstrual panties to never leave your post
Women are in a very large minority among the drivers at the SNCF, but they have been fighting for twenty years for decent working conditions. To respond to their request, the SNCF set up the operation ” Menstrual panties, test phase “. It consists of sending four volunteer drivers menstrual panties made of fair trade organic fabric and clip-on pads, to be used for six months. But that doesn’t seem convincing.
For the employees at the origin of these claims, keeping resistant panties for eight hours does not solve the problem of not having access to reserved toilets, and the right to sufficient break times. According to the president of SNCF Mixité, Anne-Sophie Nomblot, this solution is only an emergency measure to avoid the risks of toxicity of other types of protection. Other measures must be put in place in parallel.
Access to toilets is essential
Today, drivers can only go to the toilet between two carriages, or in (often dirty) passenger trains. There is no dedicated solution for women, who sometimes need to go to the bathroom more often, especially during periods. To improve access to toilets for its employees, the SNCF is trying to map ” places of toilets on the territory “, but this operation is still in progress.