SARS Taskforce Welcomed

The Labor Council of NSW today undertook to work with the NSW Government's Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Clinical Taskforce to ensure the interests of all workers in the state were protected.

Welcoming the Carr Government's initiative, Labor Council secretary John Robertson said unions would participate on the taskforce to ensure workers' interests were taken into account in any public health response.

Mr Robertson said unions' over-riding priority would be the health and safety of workers, particularly those working in hospitals.

"We will be arguing strongly that there can be no compromising the safety of health workers, several of whom have contracted the virus in Asian hospitals.

"We will also ask the government to develop plans to ensure the safety of workers in frontline positions such as tourism, particularly flight attendants and workers within our airports.

But he said unions would also stress that contingencies for the virus should not place undue pressure on workers already working under stressful conditions.

"The last thing we would want to see is frontline health workers being given extra processes and procedures without an extra injection of resources.

"Our message to the government will be: if the SARS virus is a concern, then dedicate resources to it, don't just expect public sector workers to do even more."

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Last modified: Tuesday, 15-Nov-2005 20:37:35 EST