The history of the second state-wide strike of nurses in Victoria, Australia against cuts and over wages, conditions and staff/patient ratios, which won its demands, with the solidarity of other workers.
Nurses are often seen as the archetypal ‘handmaidens’ of men. Yet if there was ever an experience that demolished this image, it was the Victorian nurses’ strike of 1986, in which a predominantly female workforce took on and defeated the State Labour government.
