Several teachers from a Toronto high school were back on the job Thursday after a work refusal process that raised safety concerns about possible radiation exposure from a nearby cellphone tower.
A letter signed by William Lyon Mackenzie Collegiate Institute‘s principal, Cynthia Nguyen, was addressed to parents, guardians, caregivers and students on Wednesday. It said 18 staff members from the school, located near Allen Road and Sheppard Avenue, exercised their right to begin a work refusal process.
“In this situation, there are health and safety concerns about possible radiation exposure from a nearby cellphone tower,” the letter read. “While these concerns were discussed today, the school did its best to arrange for coverage of classes by administrators.”
Nguyen said the school was continuing to work with staff to address these concerns, adding the Toronto District School Board arranged for a third-party consultant firm to make recommendations on next steps.
TDSB’s occupational health and safety was also involved to discuss concerns with the impacted staff and come to a resolution, the letter stated.
The Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation confirmed to Global News that the work refusal process began Wednesday and teachers returned to work on Thursday “after Board commitments.”
“There were 18 teachers who participated in a formal work refusal process as is their right under the Occupational Health and Safety Act. After voicing their concerns several times to the employer, and after delays on the part of the employer, the teachers felt they had no choice,” said Michelle Teixeira, president of the OSSTF Toronto teacher bargaining unit.
In response to the situation, Education Minister Stephen Lecce said students and staff have to be safe in school.
“Parents entrust us to do that,” he said, while joining host Greg Brady on 640 Toronto on Thursday morning.
Global News reached out to the Ministry of Labour and was told it has not received any complaints from William Lyon Mackenzie CI.
“Any worker in Ontario who feels unsafe should report their concerns to the ministry so we can investigate,” said spokesperson Jennifer Rushby in an email to Global News.
“Our ministry responds to every complaint we receive.”
According to Health Canada’s website, cellphone towers and other antenna installations are usually located on rooftops, towers and utility poles.
“Cell phone towers operate at a higher power than cell phones but the radiofrequency EMF they emit is much further away from your body,” Health Canada said. “This means your exposure level from such antennas is usually much lower than your exposure level from using a cell phone.”
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