Kim Linden

  • Not the end of the line, yet

    NEWCASTLE — Transport minister Michael Costa has backed a proposal to close part of the Newcastle rail line. The Socialist Alliance held a May 5 public meeting to discuss how the railway line can be saved. The plan would cut the

  • Hospitality workers get organised

    BY KIM LINDEN& KATHY NEWNAM NEWCASTLE — When you're on your next holiday, spare a thought for the people cleaning your hotel room. Chances are that their pay and conditions are below those set out in the award, they are being bullied and harassed

  • Refugee rights group formed

    NEWCASTLE — On January 31, a meeting at the Joy Cummins centre decided to set up Newcastle Action for Refugee Rights (NARR). Attended by 20 people, the meeting was called to organise a Newcastle contingent to the February 12

  • Victorian nurses take action

    Victorian nurses take actionMELBOURNE — Nurses at the Royal Melbourne Hospital voted on August 5 to begin an industrial campaign to force the Kennett government to fund adequate staffing levels and patient care. On August 6, the

  • Nurses campaign for better deal

    Nurses campaign for better dealMELBOURNE — At a stop-work meeting of 3000 at Dallas Brooks Hall on June 12, Victorian public sector nurses voted unanimously to start industrial action as part of a campaign to improve

  • La Trobe Valley workers unite to save hospitals

    MELBOURNE — Workers in the La Trobe Valley took united strike action on November 7 against the state government's decimation of health services. Power station workers, bus drivers, teachers and health staff at both the Moe and

  • Royal Women's Hospital under threat

    Royal Women's Hospital under threatMELBOURNE — Around 100 people took part in the Royal Women's Hospital 140th birthday celebration and rally on August 11, as part of the campaign to stop the relocation of some of the hospital's

  • Mass rallies against IR bill

    On July 31, hundreds of thousands of workers in Victoria and Newcastle took industrial action to protest against the Howard government's proposed industrial relations legislation. In Newcastle, 2000 unionists and

  • Building workers rally against travel tax

    MELBOURNE — Some 7000 building workers took to the streets here on July 10 as part of a statewide strike in protest against the federal government's proposal to tax travel allowances. The workers were mainly from the construction

  • ACI workers stand firm

    MELBOURNE — Workers at the ACI glass plant AGM Spotswood are continuing the fight for their jobs. The dispute could become a test case for the Howard government's industrial relations laws. On June 3, ACI's parent

  • Slaves of fashion: outworkers in the garment industry

    Slaves of fashion: outworkers in the garment industryImagine a job where you work 12 to 18 hours a day, seven days a week for about $2 an hour. Worse, you have to use inappropriate and sometimes dangerous machinery, you are subject

  • Why are Victorian police so violent?

    MELBOURNE — "Victorians Under Siege? The Case for an Inquiry into the Victorian Police", a report by the police issues group of the Federation of Community Legal Centres, examines policing under the Kennett government since its