The country’s largest union, the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF), has been deeply saddened by the tragic death of our dear friend and Comrade, Senator Linda White.

As a former Assistant Secretary of the Australian Services Union (ASU), Linda was long-recognised for her support of working women in this country.

She fiercely advocated for the implementation of paid family and domestic leave, better retirement outcomes for women and helped secure strong affirmative action targets in the ALP.

Linda fought and won equal pay for 200,000 community and social services workers, securing pay rises of up to 43% for some of the lowest paid workers, many of them women.

She was also well-known for leading the fight for Ansett workers who were owed $160 million after the airline’s collapse.

Our ANMF members benefitted from her tireless campaigning for working women.

And for that Linda must be honoured.

Today, we have lost a colleague, a friend and a Comrade.

Linda has left us too soon.

On behalf of our members, we express our condolences and we offer our sympathy to Linda’s loved ones.

In union.

• Statement authorised by ANMF Federal Secretary Annie Butler.

The ANMF, with over 322,000 members, is the industrial and professional voice for nurses, midwives and carers in Australia.

ANMF Statement authorised by Annie Butler, ANMF Federal Secretary. 1/365 Queen St, Melbourne.