
Issue No 41		26 November 1999

LaborNET	Ask Neale	Tool of the Week

News

Grave Concerns About Body Bags

Funeral industry workers fear they could be forced to move corpses without protective body bags, if a planned deregulation of the industry goes ahead.

Labor Council safety watchdog Mary Yaager says the Department of Health has released an issues paper, questioning the need to maintain the current industry regulatory regime.

The regulations have been in place since 1987 when a report by Industrial Relations Commissioner Cross found myriad safety problems in the industry - including bodies being left in mortuary vehicles for more than 24 hours and corpses being stored in private homes of funeral directors and taking corpses with contagious diseases on public transport.

The Cross Report led to a range of standards including :double body bags for all corpses; burial or cremations within five days, protective clothing requirements and the need to refrigerate bodies as well also strict requirements for embalming.

Yaags says any deregulation could compromise public safety.

"Without the regulations there is nothing to stop workers being exposed to highly infectious and contagious diseases such as tuberculosis - tests show that TB survives in soil 37 years after the body has been exhumed," she says.

The Labor Council is preparing a response to the issues paper. Industry employers and unions with members - the Funeral Industry Association, the Municipal Employees Union, and the Health and Research Employees Association - have all flagged their opposition to the plan.

View entire issue - print all of the articles!

Issue 41 contents

Interview: A Bob Each Way
ALP tactician Bob McMullan is responsible for charting Labor industry policy into the next millennium. He tells us where he’s heading.

Unions: Organiser of the Year
Just ten days to go before entries close for our $2000 air ticket. Here’s another nomination.

History: Labour Daze
A report from the 6th National Biennial Conference of the Australian Society For The Study Of Labour and Community.

Politics: Tomorrow’s Questions
While the turn of the century sees Sydney play host to the Olympic games, the International Youth Parliament 2000 will bring world focus to contemporary issues facing young people.

Health: Red Ribbons
December 1, World AIDS Day has a special place in the history of the AIDS pandemic.

International: Organised Chaos
Persistent rumours are floating around Jakarta that the former boss of the official pro-Soeharto Indonesian trade union movement is about to be charged with corruption.

Economics: Seattle Numbers Grow for WTO Protest
News of the agreement to smooth China’s entry to the World Trade Organisation has created its own "China Syndrome" for organisers of the Seattle WTO event.

Satire: Too Many Media Players!
The Productivity Commission has issued a report calling for the abolition of existing cross-media ownership laws.

Review: Leviathan
John Birmingham has lifted the lid on Sydney’s shady past - and found trade unions to be at the centre of the sordid tales.

Deface a Face: Reith Loses His Shine
With his Second Wave looking more like a splash in the bath-tub, Workplace Relations Minister Peter Reith still reigns as the union movement’s favourite bogeyman.

» Labor Hire Faces Deregulation

» Democrats Poised to Say No

» Olympic Job Cut Fears

» Inspectors to Act on Ships of Shame

» Grave Concerns About Body Bags

» Former Trades Hall Boss Into Teachers Fray

» Tools for Timor Plea

» Rio Tinto Sacks 84 for Christmas Eve

» Hotel Workers in Unprecedented Action

» Tug Action Hits Sydney Harbour

» Free National Parks Access as Bans Kick In

» Parkers Issue Ticket To Loitering Government

» Stop Forced Repatriation of Burmese Migrant Workers

» Will the Real Casual Workers Please Stand Up?

» STOP PRESS: Labor Wins NZ Election