Colour photographs of Mary Lee in Adelaide.mary lee, suffrage, female suffrage, women's suffrage league, working women's trade union, working women's trade union, adelaide, statue, women

non-fictionA study of the field of Community Arts in Australia and the history of the Community Arts Board.community arts, art and working life, community arts board, community arts network, australia council, trade unions, murals, posters, activism, arts funding

non-fictionA history of the authors life as an artist, teacher, and political activist in Australia.trade unions, social realism, communist party of australia, peace art, australia council, community arts, art and working life, international co-operation art award, cpa, political cartoons, cabramatta and districts art society, noel counihan, contemporary art society of victoria

Distributed to nurses during campaigning for improved wages and working conditions in the 1980s, possibly during the historic 1986 Victorian 50-day nurses strike. In October 1986, Victorian nurses began their longest strike after the failure of repeated talks with the health minister David White who was committed to reducing the classification and pay of almost half of Victoria’s nurses. Skeleton staff were left in the wards while picket lines, tents and caravans were set up outside hospitals in both metropolitan and regional Victoria. After 50 days of industrial action, Victorian nurses voted to return to work on 20 December 1986. The Royal Australian Nursing Federation (RANF) became the Australian Nursing Federation in 1989, suggesting that this button is from the late 1980s. Similar to the badges worn in this photo [https://stories.anmfvic.asn.au/86strike/media/2560-1440-landscape-sec2-contentb-hr_logwf7a.jpg] from 1986 (see individual on the far right).This badge is of historic significance as it represents nurses' struggle for industrial and professional status. This struggle was made particularly visible through the 1986 Victorian nurses' strike, which had great impact on the way Australian society viewed nurses and working women (Bessant, 1992).Circular white and red plastic badge. Silver metal, plastic-coated, with safety pin fastener adhered to back. Badge printed with 'Nurses DO dare to Struggle' and 'R.A.N.F. [Royal Australian Nursing Federation] Vic. [Victorian] Branch'.nursing, nurses, industrial action, strike action, unionism, trade unions, badges, buttons, pins, campaigning, 1986 victorian nurses strike, labour history, royal australian nursing federation, victoria, australia