Victorian Trades Hall Council. The voice of Victorian workers since 1856.Victorian Trades Hall Council. The voice of Victorian workers since 1856.

From the catwalk to court

Behind-the-scenes of Fashion Week, there is a sobering reality devoid of glamour, that of worker exploitation.
The Textile Clothing and Footwear Union of Australia (TCFUA) will begin Federal Court proceedings on Thursday 2 March 2006 against the makers of leading fashion labels over alleged breaches of laws designed to prevent the exploitation of outworkers.
Twenty-five companies will join the ranks of nearly 150 companies already prosecuted by the TCFUA for failing to abide by minimum standards set out in the Clothing Trades Award.
“During the glitz and glamour of Fashion Week, designers and manufacturers need to take note of the public’s demand for their clothes to be made under fair conditions and wages,” said TCFUA State Secretary Michele O’Neil. “A worker working at home deserves equally good working conditions and wages as a worker in a factory.”
It is estimated there are up to 300,000 outworkers in Australia, many of them working for as little as $3 per hour. The prosecutions are intended to make sure that all participants in the industry follow the law and ensure a system that delivers outworkers Award wages and conditions.
“Consumers are demanding ethically made clothes and many of our innovative designers are too,” said Ms O’Neil.
“It’s time for manufacturers to do the right thing and for designers to consider what they want their labels to stand for.


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