COAL MINING UNION MEMBERS MARCH IN SYDNEY, 1997-10-02 (photo)

Hunter Valley coal mining union members march to Prime Minister John Howard's Sydney office October 1. About six thousand unionists and their families were involved in the rally, stopping production from one-third of Australia's coal industry, the country's biggest export earner. The war of attrition between unions and producers has erupted into a major new strike to cover the entire Hunter Valley coal province north of Sydney, and is seen likely to grow into a national strike which would block more than A$8 billion (US$5.76 billion) worth of annual exports of coal to Asian clients. AUSTRALIA STRIKE