Cries from the Workplace-20 Women, 20 Stories by Asian Women at Work Incorporated

The Hon. PENNY SHARPE (Parliamentary Secretary) [5.50 p.m.]: Tonight I speak about a new booklet entitled Cries from the Workplace—20 women, 20 stories released by Asian Women at Work Incorporated. These 20 stories offer a compelling overview of the difficulties being faced every day by some women in this city who are trying to earn a living. I quote briefly from the introduction that states:

We are Asian women workers. We are skilled and dedicated. We work very hard but we are never treated as we deserve. Our hard working efforts are not recognised. We are bullied and harassed. Often we are not paid even the minimum wage, or our other entitlements.

And because we are migrants and can't speak English very well, we could not tell anybody what is going on. We are scared of the boss. We fear we will lose our jobs so we always put up with whatever happens to us, and feel uncomfortable to speak out or to complain.

We didn't believe exploitation could happen in Australia. We never expected this to be part of our 'new life' here until we experienced it ourselves. We feel like third class citizens. For a long time we have felt like we are not important and we are ignored.

That is why we are speaking out! Through this booklet, our stories will be told and heard by people.

These stories were gathered by an organisation called Asian Women at Work. This network of Asian women workers, which tries to advocate on behalf of a marginalised workforce, has a current membership of around 1,300 low-wage workers across the State. Because these workers have trouble getting their voices heard in the media and in mainstream Australia, this booklet highlights the problems that they suffer. Asian Women at Work came up with the good idea of putting together some funding, speaking to the women involved and asking them to tell their stories. The Uniting Church, Revesby Workers Club and the Social Education and Research Concerning Humanity [SEARCH] Foundation funded the project.

Tonight I wish to refer to one or two of the stories to be found in this booklet. I refer, first, to Lan, a woman in her fifties. Lan and her family left Vietnam in 1980 by boat. When her boat crossed the border pirates attacked it and she and other people lost everything, including money and jewellery. Lan and her family stayed in a refugee camp and in 2000 they were able to move to Australia. The booklet states:

She got a job in a factory and worked very hard. After five years of working she felt very tired and became numb from her right hand to her shoulder. She decided to take sick leave for treatment. She told her boss and hoped that he would understand her situation. After all, she worked at the factory for all those years, and she had always been a good worker ... Unfortunately for her, it was at the time WorkChoices was introduced. Her boss asked her to leave the job immediately without paying her anything she was entitled to.

I refer to the story of another woman called Lan, a single mother with adult children who has been an outworker for 10 years. She worked very hard during the week and at weekends and she has never had any holidays. She has never had any money from social security. As a result of her hard work and looking after her family for a long time she was never able to learn English, which obviously limited her employment opportunities. She said that she recently went looking for a new job after her factory closed. She found an employer who asked her whether she could make clothes. She said that she could and she worked at that factory for a week and demonstrated that she was able to do the job.

At the end of the week she was given an envelope with a bit of money in it—obviously not the award rate—and she was told, "We do not need you any more, thank you very much. You have done your training and you have failed." That is just one example of the many stories in this booklet that deserve greater attention. The stories, which speak for themselves, talk about harassment and about bullying in the workplace. Asian Women at Work drew from the stories in this booklet those things that workers really need and it made a total of 14 recommendations. One important recommendation relates to strong legal protection for workers. Nothing will be achieved if legislation is not in place to protect these workers.

Another important recommendation relates to enforcement of the law and to an active inspectorate. Inspectors must be employed to check on what is happening in these workplaces. The final recommendation relates to the desperate need for employers and workers in migrant communities to receive a better education. The women in these stories, who are dignified and who give their bosses a significant amount of leeway, ultimately need to be educated about their rights and about the enforcement of those rights. All members should read this booklet and this Government should attempt to do something to help these migrant workers.

Question—That this House do now adjourn—put and resolved in the affirmative.

Motion agreed to.

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