FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 6, 2001

Workers walk out of courthouse over bad air

TORONTO - Court employees at the Ontario Court of Justice (Metro West) at 80 The East Mall have walked off the job over air that is making them sick.

The Ontario Ministry of Labour has routinely found carbon dioxide levels in the mouldy, leaking former warehouse to be twice the acceptable levels. Ninety per cent of the 43 union members at the Courthouse have reported symptoms of “sick building” syndrome.

“We’ve had increased respiratory infections, nosebleeds, headaches, sore eyes, chronic fatigue, and reduced concentration,” says Florence Clark, a spokesperson for Local 551 of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union. “People just can’t stand it any more.”

Clark and her co-workers decided to take action after learning that a plan to deal with the problem had been postponed indefinitely.

“This place has to be closed down and the courts moved while renovations take place,” said OPSEU Health and Safety Officer Lisa McCaskell. “The building is a dangerous health hazard for everyone who works there.”

Similar work refusals under the Occupational Health and Safety Act led to the closure of the Newmarket Courthouse in June 2000 after toxic mould caused serious illness among staff there, including judges and attorneys.

“This kind of problem is bound to continue until Ontario has an enforceable indoor air regulation,” said McCaskell. “After Walkerton, the provincial government changed the non-enforceable drinking water guidelines into enforceable regulations. If public health is really an issue for them, they should do exactly the same thing on indoor air quality.”

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For more information: 

Lisa McCaskell (416) 605-0230 (cell)
Jan Borowy (416) 427-0083 (cell)
Randy Robinson (416) 448-7441