year's Oktoberfest
Posted on 08/02/2005 6:01:09 PM PDT by MRMEAN
Barmaids protest as EU plans cover-up in the beer gardens
By Kate Connolly
(Filed: 03/08/2005)
Bavarians are hot under the collar over an EU directive that will force their barmaids to cover up, supposedly to protect them from the sun.
Brewery owners, politicians and most of the women themselves have condemned the legislation as absurd, claiming the "tan ban", as it has been nicknamed, will destroy a centuries-old tradition.
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year's Oktoberfest |
Bavarian barmaids typically dress in a costume known as a "dirndl", a dress and apron with a tight, low-cut top whose figure-hugging effect is enhanced by a short white blouse.
Under the EU's Optical Radiation Directive, employers of staff who work outdoors, including those in Bavaria's beer gardens, must ensure they cover up against the risk of sunburn.
Bavarian bar keepers have been told that the dirndl, generally rather revealing, will have to be replaced as it offers no protection against what the directive calls "natural sources of radiation", meaning sunlight.
Employers now face heavy fines if they fail to protect their workers from the threat of sunburn or skin cancer.
"This is European law-making at its most pedantic," said Munich's mayor, Christian Ude. "A waitress is no longer allowed to wander round a beer garden with a plunging neckline. I would not want to enter a beer garden under these conditions."
A spokesman for the Bavarian Hotel and Restaurant Union said: "I have spoken to lots of waitresses and none of them have told me that sunburn in the décolleté area has ever been a problem."
Organisers of the world's biggest beer festival, Munich's Oktoberfest, which habitually attracts more than six million visitors a year, were particularly angry at the proposed ban. "This is an attack on the traditions of a region," said a spokesman.
The new legislation, which is due to be voted on in the European parliament next month, was defended by Wolfgang Kreissl-Dörfer, a Bavarian MEP. He said: "Sun rays have become more aggressive and there has been a huge increase in the amount of skin cancer."
The directive was initially accused of outlawing bare-chested British builders.
But Britain opted out of signing it, arguing that it was up to employees and employers to use their common sense to guard against the sun.
Information appearing on telegraph.co.uk is the copyright of Telegraph Group Limited and must not be reproduced in any medium without licence. For the full copyright statement see Copyright
I've not changed my opinion.
EU still equals PU.
This is the WORST law I've ever heard of!!!!!
"Sun rays have become more aggressive
Must be the testosterone.
Say, that Beer looks GOOD!
They used to issue article 15's for sunburn when I was in the army.
I must say, that beautiful woman sure has a nice set of juggs.
Seriously, how do they hold all those muggs. I'll bet she has some killer lower arm strength.
Just one pic doesn't define the subject properly.
George Orwell couldn't make this stuff up!
The EU crats are a fun-loving bunch, aren't they? Pretty soon there'll be an EU Hops Ingestion Limit Directive. Just what Europe needs, one less reason to visit...
Wolfgang speaks of sun rays as if they were SUVs...
What is the schedule for "Bowl Movements"?
I'll be happy to apply all the sunscreen that's needed.
Next thing we know, they'll be forced to wear burkas.
Totally stupid. By US standards - where girls walk around in halter tops with their jogging shorts rolled down around the waist to their pubic bone, thereby letting their kidney fat bulge in a truly revolting way that is apparently attractive to teenage boys and child molesters - the bierfest girls are positive icons of modesty and sun-protectedness.
Check the bandages on her fingers.
She's humping eight gallons of beer per order. Sun burn is the least of her worries.
AND SHE'S SMILING
The EU, I think, will not survive another 5 years. Although silly, this is an attack on the sovereignty of Germany.
those are actually very modest costumes. I wish the barmaid at the tavern I went to last night was that covered up. Instead she wore low-rider jeans, a tight tank top, and had the exploding biscuit can look going on in the middle. Blech. These German ladies look fine. And really, what idiot thought the govt needs to get involved over the issue of sunburn? If these women are concerned about sunburn themselves, can't they be trusted to use sunscreen? If they don't care about getting burned, why should anyone else? This makes no sense!
I've viewed all sorts of photos of women in various levels of undress. I still have to say the most flattering shots are ones like these.
Nice.
This IS a serious public policy debate. I'm going to have to go get another brewsky before I study this issue more.
LOL
Take care.
D1
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