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The Hon. JAN BURNSWOODS [9.53 p.m.]: I have spoken in this House on a number of occasions about the exploitation of outworkers, particularly in the textile, clothing and footwear industries, and about government initiatives such as the Fair Wear campaign. The campaigns have been initiated to assist outworkers, who often are women of non-English speaking background working in poor conditions. I was pleased to hear this week the announcement by the Minister for Fair Trading about the latest stage in the Government's Behind the Label awareness campaign, which is part of an ongoing program designed to promote an ethical clothing trade. In a press release the Minister said:
From today, everyone will have the chance to help build a better, fairer Australian clothing trade by supporting those retailers who carry the Behind the Label brand.
The press release contains a list of participating retailers, and includes some major companies in the retail industry. In previous years the campaign was slow to get off the ground and it was necessary to embarrass the major companies to participate. The Minister continued:
The Behind the Label Strategy and its Consumer Awareness Campaign asks shoppers to support a fairer clothing trade by shopping with retailers who are signatories to the Ethical Clothing Code of Practice, an agreement designed to combat exploitation of clothing outworkers.
More than 40 companies have signed the code, making a total of more than 1,000 retail outlets signatories to the code. We have a long way to go. Given the difficulties over the past few years to be able to act in this area, whether by legislation or regulation, I am heartened by the achievements of the education campaign. The pressure placed on retailers has led to a number of leading retailers joining with the relevant union and the community to work towards a fairer clothing industry. Currently, more than 40,000 individuals in New South Wales are employed as outworkers. Many work 12 or more hours a day, 6 to 7 days a week, for as little as $2 per hour. The minimum award wage for an outworker is at least $12 an hour.
As I said, often the outworkers are middle-aged women of non-English speaking background. Sometimes they enlist the help of their young children because of the pittance they are paid. The Office of Industrial Relations, in conjunction with the Department of Education and Training, has developed a program for outworkers. In addition, over the past four months bilingual investigators of the Office of Industrial Relations have inspected about 200 workplaces, identifying breaches of industrial law and recovering a considerable sum of money for employees who had been denied their rights. The Textile Clothing and Footwear Union of Australia supports the Government's initiatives in this area. The secretary of the union said that the solution to the exploitation of outworkers lies in the hands of the ethical retailers. He continued:
Ethical retailers will make the difference between the outworkers being paid an exploitative rate and the fair award which is the Australian rate.
That is true, but it is necessary for us to continue to use a multi-strand approach. It is not only a matter of signing up retailers, it is also a matter of the Government continuing its work, either through the Department of Fair Trading or the Office of Industrial Relations. Also, the Federal Government can play a role in this area. We need to continue to help stamp out the abuses that have for so long bedevilled this industry. I am pleased that the Government is continuing its initiatives in this area. I urge the relevant Ministers, the union and the major retailers to continue their good work.