City staff refuse to work at 2 Toronto indoor pools, citing unsafe conditions due to humidity

Two Toronto pools may remain closed today after staff refused to work due to hot and humid conditions. Courtney Heels has more.

Staff at two indoor pools in Toronto refused to work on Tuesday, citing unsafe conditions due to the heat and humidity.

CUPE Local 79, the union representing the City of Toronto’s inside workers, said this is the second work refusal in a week by aquatics staff.

The union said at both pools at Main Square in Toronto’s east end and Birchmount in Scarborough, indoor humidex readings were recorded between 40 and 45 C.

That temperature requires increased staffing levels and the presence of medics under health and safety policies, according to CUPE.

“Over the past two weeks, a number of pools have had to shut down due to mechanical issues, staffing issues and other concerns that have compromised the health and safety of our workers,” CUPE Local 79 president Nas Yadollahi said at a news conference on Tuesday.

“We are glad to know that the mayor has devoted, and council has approved, quite a significant amount of money to the state of good repair of these buildings. The state of good repair is only as useful as when it is done preemptively. It’s important that these services continue to operate in a predictable way for members of the public, so that they can rely on these services, especially when there’s a heat wave, accordingly.”

Yadollahi said the extreme heat conditions stem from malfunctioning pool dehumidification units, which regulate humidity for indoor pools.

“If the (pool dehumidification unit) is not working, there’s going to be heat that’s going to accumulate on the pool deck, making it very difficult for workers to be able to work without getting sick.”

According to CUPE, city management “failed to act and provide appropriate cooling spaces,” despite complaints from frontline staff.

The union said workers exercised their right to refuse unsafe work under Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act and walked off the job, which they said resulted in the city temporarily closing Birchmount Pool until 5:30 p.m.

The city’s website lists “mechanical issues” as the reason both Birchmount and Main Square pools were closed.

Yadollahi added that staff will not return to work until their “demands” are met, which include a working dehumidification unit, adequate staffing levels, and a medic on site when humidex values reach 45 C.

“The City of Toronto is actively collaborating with the union to resolve the identified issues as quickly as possible as the health and safety of staff and the public is our top priority,” the city said in a statement to CTV News Toronto.

“The (City) has protocols in place to address heat stress.... where work conditions are deemed unsafe by management, facilities will be temporarily closed. The City is working to address issues with the dehumidification systems at Main Square Indoor Pool and Birchmount Indoor Pool to reopen both facilities as early as tomorrow.”

A previous version of this story incorrectly referred to the wrong brand of dehumidification units.