In October 1986, Victorian nurses began an historic strike action which was to last 50 days. This video is the nurses version of the dispute. Despite widespread condemnation mainly from the media, the nurses eventually won out for an appropriate career structure including significant pay increases. Actual strike footage together with nursing training films and old photographs explore vocational stereotypes and place the strike in the context of the current crisis in the health care system.44 minute video file (.mp4 multimedia format), transferred from original videocassette. In colour, with sound. Original was released with a booklet explaining the broader context for the documentary.labor, labour history, nurses, royal australian nursing federation, strikes, industrial action, film, trade unions, 1986 victorian nurses strike, nursing, strike action, unionism, campaigning, victoria, health system, staffing, australia, irene bolger, strikes and lockouts, history

In October 1986, Victorian nurses began an historic strike action which was to last 50 days. Breaking Point (1998) is a retrospective work, reflecting on the 10 years following the 1986 Victorian strike. It was produced by Mark Bird and Nicholas Bird (of Waterbyrd Filmz, the production company that, as outlined above, also made Vivien Bullwinkel, Nurse TV and Australian Nurses). In this film, it is not primarily images of striking nurses and the words of striking nurses that tell the story, but the voice-over. The narrator (Patrick J. Bonello) positions the strike alongside other national and world events of 1986, ‘the year that changed the nursing profession in Australia forever’. In this film, the strike is framed as a pivotal one in the history of Australian nurses, and one that affected individual nurses deeply and transformed their profession irrevocably. There is a conscious discussion on the emotional effects of the 1986 strike – relationships broke up, people had no money, unionists could not feed their families, it was hard to keep going, families fought over the strike, picketing nurses recalled getting spat at, and there was even a death threat. [Description adapted from Milner & Brigden, 2014, pp. 116; 118]39 minute video file (.mp4 multimedia format), transferred from original videocassette. In colour, with sound. Original was released with a booklet explaining the broader context for the documentary.labor, labour history, nurses, royal australian nursing federation, strikes, industrial action, film, trade unions, 1986 victorian nurses strike, nursing, strike action, unionism, women, irene bolger, john cain, david white

Broadcast of 'Smash and Grab' program on 3CR Community Radio. Historical information taken from 'Radical radio: celebrating 40 years of 3CR' (Ed. Juliet Fox, 2016, pp. 97-98): "Less than a week after the first hospital went out on strike, 3CR's Monday morning program Smash and Grab ran a special program on the issues surrounding the strike. Presenters Vig Geddes and Deb Welch recognised the nature of the nurses' struggle - a predominantly female union with a women leader - as a feminist issue, and that in this particular dispute, 3CR's long standing commitment to industrial coverage and its increasingly strong feminism converged. The issues being faced by nurses were being dismissed because nursing was seen as women's work. The response to the initial coverage of the dispute by 3CR was overwhelming. 'When we asked for talkback calls from the public, the lines were jammed, largely with callers wanting to offer their support to the nurses,' explained Deb Welch in the CRAM Guide February 1987. 'Others couldn't work out from the papers and the TV news what the strike was about. Many were outraged by the coverage the nurses had received and were fully aware how overworked and underpaid nurses have been.' In recognition of this outpouring of interest and support, 3CR decided to continue with a daily program - Nurses' Update. The program was presented by Vig and Deb every morning at 10am, and featured a range of nurses voicing their experiences and their concerns. 'Every morning, three or four nurses would cram into the 3CR studios and talk about the type of work they did, the pressures they worked under, their passion for nursing, their problems with the new award, why nurses' conditions are a women's issue, problems with understaffing and chronic tiredness, nursing history, relations between nurses and doctors - in fact the endless range of issues were what made the dispute so complex and history, reflects Deb [Welch]."Three audio files (.mp3 multimedia format), transferred from compact disc recording.3cr, community radio, melbourne, history, radio station, labor, labour history, nurses, royal australian nursing federation, strikes, industrial action, film, trade unions, 1986 victorian nurses strike, nursing, strike action, unionism, strikes and lockouts, victoria, feminism

Broadcast of short-lived 'Nurses' Update' program on 3CR Community Radio. Historical information taken from 'Radical radio: celebrating 40 years of 3CR' (Ed. Juliet Fox, 2016, pp. 97-98): "Less than a week after the first hospital went out on strike, 3CR's Monday morning program Smash and Grab ran a special program on the issues surrounding the strike. Presenters Vig Geddes and Deb Welch recognised the nature of the nurses' struggle - a predominantly female union with a women leader - as a feminist issue, and that in this particular dispute, 3CR's long standing commitment to industrial coverage and its increasingly strong feminism converged. The issues being faced by nurses were being dismissed because nursing was seen as women's work. The response to the initial coverage of the dispute by 3CR was overwhelming. 'When we asked for talkback calls from the public, the lines were jammed, largely with callers wanting to offer their support to the nurses,' explained Deb Welch in the CRAM Guide February 1987. 'Others couldn't work out from the papers and the TV news what the strike was about. Many were outraged by the coverage the nurses had received and were fully aware how overworked and underpaid nurses have been.' In recognition of this outpouring of interest and support, 3CR decided to continue with a daily program - Nurses' Update. The program was presented by Vig and Deb every morning at 10am, and featured a range of nurses voicing their experiences and their concerns. 'Every morning, three or four nurses would cram into the 3CR studios and talk about the type of work they did, the pressures they worked under, their passion for nursing, their problems with the new award, why nurses' conditions are a women's issue, problems with understaffing and chronic tiredness, nursing history, relations between nurses and doctors - in fact the endless range of issues were what made the dispute so complex and history, reflects Deb [Welch]."Audio file (.mp3 multimedia format), transferred from compact disc recording.3cr, community radio, melbourne, history, labour history, nurses, royal australian nursing federation, strikes, industrial action, trade unions, 1986 victorian nurses strike, nursing, strike action, unionism, strikes and lockouts, victoria