Monica Harte

Monica Harte is a tram driver and job delegate for the ATMOEA in Melbourne. She played a leading role during the 1989-90 tramways dispute and ran as an independent candidate in the Thomastown by-election in February 1990.

Beginning in 1979, Monica lived in Ireland for a number of years. She was involved in the movement around the H-Block prisoners and around basic women's issues such as contraception and abortion.

"All along I have worked on broader issues, but you recognise that, within those broader issues, you must focus on the role of women. They then have a context.

"It wasn't until I became more involved in the union that I realised just how much of a struggle it is for women, particularly when you started to challenge the position of the leadership, to challenge politically what was happening. The way people tried to discredit the political points that women were trying to make was by reacting to them as women, finding ways to attack them on that basis.

"Feminism is definitely a component of and linked to trade union struggles. Pathways have opened up for some women, but that isn't enough. On questions like child-care and equal pay, we certainly have a long way to go. It's all part of a larger struggle."

From GLW issue 3