FED: Award "stripping" to help sweatshop operators union

AAP General News (Australia)
12-06-1998
FED: Award "stripping" to help sweatshop operators union

By Denis Peters, Industrial Correspondent

SYDNEY, Dec 6 AAP - Clothing sweatshop operators would be given the green light to underpay
outworkers if an award stripping measure succeeded, the New South Wales Labor Council said
today.

The Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC) would tomorrow begin hearing an
application by employer groups, Australian Business Ltd and the Australian Industry Group, to
delete three separate outworker clauses from the Clothing Trades Award, the council said.

The clothing workers union maintains the case, part of the federal governments award
simplification process, would downgrade protection for Australias 330,000 outworkers by
relaxing a requirement that all contractors must be registered with the Industrial Registrar.

This would make it impossible for industrial inspectors or trade unions to trace the source
of the garment, meaning there would be no means to police child labour and sweatshops, the
Textile, Clothing and Footwear Union (TCFU) said.

"Without the clauses there will be no effective scrutiny of sub-contractors, meaning
outworkers will be even more exposed to exploitation," TCFU national secretary Tony Woolgar
said in a statement.

"Award clauses are not perfect but they are still the best mechanism for protecting
outworkers by properly monitoring their employment conditions."

The clauses were inserted in 1987 when concerns about increasing homebased work convinced
the AIRC to regulate the chain of production, Mr Woolgar said.

The registration requirements were strengthened in 1994, ensuring only bona fide employers
would be recognised by the Industrial Registrar, he said.

Council secretary Michael Costa said the case showed the dangers of the "award-stripping
process and the empty rhetoric of (Prime Minister) John Howards promise that no worker would
be worse off under a coalition government".

"This case shows the dangers for all Australian workers of the Howard-Reith assault on the
award system," he said.

"It is particularly galling given (Workplace Relations Minister) Peter Reiths stated
intention to further deregulate the labour market," Mr Costa said.

AAP dep/sb/sk

KEYWORD: OUTWORKERS

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