Dignity at work includes being provided basic hygiene facilities. Toilet paper is essential and so are sanitary items like tampons and pads. No one chooses to bleed – it’s just a fact of life like going to the toilet.
During the Covid lockdowns, RAFFWU members and essential workers campaigned for employers to provide free pads and tampons in the workplace.
We don’t bring toilet paper with us to work. Work should provide pads and tampons.
Providing sanitary items at work means we have access to pads and tampons when we need them. They’re bloody essential, and we’re bloody essential too.

Essential items should be free
Many workers in retail and fast food are young, and can experience their first period at work.
Many people have irregular menstrual cycles. Workers can start menstruating while on shift, only becoming aware on a bathroom break.
Retail and fast food workers are paid low wages and can’t always afford essential items.
All of these and more are good reasons why employers should provide essential sanitary items for free, especially in a cost-of-living crisis when these items have become more and more expensive.
Below are testimonies from essential workers and RAFFWU members who have campaigned for period dignity and free sanitary items at work.
If this campaign interests you, get in touch with RAFFWU. Together, workers can organise and win!