Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

We know where you stand, Senator Fisher, on superannuation. That is on the public record: you vote against it each and every time.

The survey found that employees were not being identified as employees for the purposes of WorkCover, companies were not keeping transparent and correct work records, and companies who give out work are not registered with the Board of Reference.

A subsequent report by the Brotherhood of St Laurence in 2007 found that out­workers interviewed for the research indica­ted that conditions for outworkers had actually worsened in the previous five years. That was in 2007, for the previous five years. Guess who was in power? John Howard and the coalition. I want to quote from this report:

A shortage of work had left them with very little bargaining power with contractors. One group said that they were paid $2.50 for a detailed shirt which took one hour to sew. Another group said they were paid between $2 and $3 an hour. When asked about hours worked, most indicated that they often went weeks without a job but when the work was available they worked long hours.

These outworkers also said that compared with ten years ago, companies increasingly demanded quicker turnaround times. The scarcity of work and precarious nature of employment leave outworkers with little choice but to accept the job.

Look at the pattern: 1994, 2001, 2004 and 2007. Look at the Fair Work Amendment (Textile, Clothing and Footwear Industry) Bill 2011. The bill will amend the Fair Work Act 2009 to enhance existing protections for vulnerable workers in the textile, clothing and footwear industry. Despite the existing provisions in the Fair Work Act, the relevant modern award and state legislation, outworkers continue to experience poor working conditions. This bill is intended to ensure equitable and consistent protection for these workers—and I make no apology for that, like the rest of my colleagues, who unfortunately will not get an opportunity to speak in this debate today.

The bill will also address a limitation that currently exists in relation to right of entry into premises in the TCF industry operating under 'sweatshop' conditions. The bill will extend the operation of most provisions of the FW Act to contract outworkers in the TCF industry; provide a mechanism to ensure that TCF outworkers recover unpaid amounts up the supply chain; and extend specific right of entry rules that apply to suspected breaches affecting outworkers—which allow entry without 24 hours notice—to the industry more broadly, with an exception for the principal place of business of a person with appropriate accreditation to which the standard right of entry rules would apply.

I would like to turn to another element of this industry, one which should not be left without having a comment made on it. It is the fashion industry, not only here in Australia but worldwide, because they also have a responsibility to ensure that their workers, the ones that make the garments that we all wear, are not exploited. Not only do they have a responsibility to those workers; as I have talked about in this place on many occasions, they also have a responsibility to ensure our young men and women have a healthy outlook on their body image. They take profits out of this industry, but they particularly do so at the expense of these workers that have been exploited for far too long and whose rights should be taken into account on this issue.

I would also like to place on record my appreciation and thanks for the people that have opened my eyes to how these vulnerable people have been exploited in this country for far too long, going back to Steve Brennan, a former official of the South Australian branch of the Textile, Clothing and Footwear Union of Australia, to Barry Tubner, to Tony Woolgar. I note those three people in particular because when I came to this place they educated me on this important issue. You should be aware of at least some of these people, Senator Fisher.