2 Toronto pools close as staff refuse to work, citing excessive heat, humidity

Staff at two of Toronto's indoor pools refused to work on Tuesday, citing unsafe working conditions due to excessive humidity, forcing the pools to temporarily close, the union representing the city's inside workers says.

CUPE Local 79's president said the humidity at pools at Birchmount Community Centre and Main Square in Toronto's east end made it feel as hot as 40-45 C on Tuesday.

That level of humidity requires extra staffing that the city didn't provide, union president Nas Yadollahi told reporters outside one of the pools Tuesday. She said temporary closures caused by unsafe conditions have been a pattern this summer, which is one of the hottest Toronto has experienced.

"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," she said.

Toronto is currently under a heat warning that is expected to last into Wednesday evening. It is the fifth heat warning the city has been issued this year.

The excessive humidity at the indoor pools was caused by malfunctioning Dectron units, which regulate humidity inside the facilities, Yadollahi said. She said the city needs to make such mechanical issues a priority and pre-emptively fix them so pools can continue to operate safely.

"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," she said.

The union is demanding the city fix the Dectrons, adequately staff pools during extreme heat, and ensure a medic is on site when humidex values exceed 45, said Yadollahi. Staff will not return to work until those demands are met, she said. 

City, union collaborating on fixes

In an emailed statement to CBC Toronto, a City of Toronto spokesperson said the city is now 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 is working on the Dectrons at Main Square and Birchmount in an effort to reopen both pools as early as Wednesday.

The city has measures in place to address heat stress, the statement read. Those measures include having paramedics check on staff at "hotter priority locations, as identified," providing cool spaces for staff with fans and air conditioning, and increasing staffing levels by 30 per cent to allow workers more breaks. 

"Where work conditions are deemed unsafe by management, facilities will be temporarily closed," the city statement read. 

The union is "pleased with the responses we've been getting," said Yadollahi. But she said previous staff complaints about unsafe conditions have been dismissed or ignored.

A spokesperson for Mayor Olivia Chow's office said she has agreed to work with the union to resolve their specific concerns and ensure the indoor pools stay open.

"The mayor has made it clear she will take whatever action is necessary to keep pools open for Torontonians and protect worker safety," said Zeus Eden in a statement to CBC on Wednesday.

At the council meeting in June, Chow moved to deploy additional lifeguards to accommodate more breaks during extreme heat, to make medical professionals available to check in with workers, and to install more shade structures for workers to stay out of the sun. 

Eden said that council will also consider a report that examines gaps in Toronto's heat relief strategy to make sure residents are kept safe, including considering reinstating a chief resiliency officer to help the city be ready for all forms of extreme weather.