Bodies stack up as cemetery dispute drags on

More than 140 bodies are waiting to be buriedat Canada's largest cemetery where a labour disputehas brought burials and cremations to a halt.

Workers at Montreal's Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery have been off the job since mid-May.

Paul Caghassi's mother died on Mother's Day and he is still waiting to bury her.

"It's almost as if my mother didn't die yet and she's dying, it's almost as if she's been dying since Sunday the 13th," Caghassi told CBC News this week.

Although cemetery spokesman Guy Dufortsympathizes with the families of the dead, he says nothing will change until the workers' union reduces its demands.

But, he added,it's not unusual for families to have to wait several months to bury their loved ones at the cemetery.

"For instance, in the winter time there is no burial that's possible so we simply wait until we can dig the grave properly," Dufort said.

There is room to store 450 coffins, he says.