TCFUA investigates Cue claims

The Textile Clothing and Footwear Union (TCFUA) is investigating claims clothing found at one of the apparel companies it has issued legal proceedings against, may be counterfeit.

The claim comes after clothing from women's retail chain Cue was among that discovered at Melbourne manufacturer Harmony Fashions, despite the fact all of Cue's product is produced in Sydney.

Harmony Fashions is one of 29 apparel companies which the TCFUA has accused of breaching the Federal Clothing Trades Award by failing to provide the union with access to employment records. The union alleges the companies in question committed further breaches by failing to register with the Australian Relation's Commission's Clothing Board of Reference - a legal requirement for all manufacturers wishing to contract outworkers.

However following well-publicised media reports linking Cue to the melee, the brand's general manager David Kesby has sought to distance the brand from the action, strongly denying any involvement with Harmony Fashions.

"Cue has never even heard of Harmony Fashions, the company who it is claimed has manufactured goods for Cue. [Cue] has co-operated fully with the TCFUA from the outset [and] was one of the first manufacturers, as well as one of the first retailers, to sign the voluntary Code of Conduct to eliminate exploitation of workers."

A spokesman for Harmony Fashions agreed the company had no contract with Cue.

Kesby said Cue had signed contracts with all of its makers outlining their legal and ethical obligations to abide by the National Retailers/TCFUA Ethical Code of Practice. The brand had been working closely with the union's New South Wales branch to determine how Cue garments could have ended up in a Melbourne manufacturing plant as it believed the garments could have been counterfeit, he said.

Cue's position has been supported by TCFUA Victorian state secretary Michele O'Neil and TCFUA NSW assistant secretary John Owen, both of whom agree the brand has taken "vigorous" steps to proactively ensure its products were manufactured in locations where its stringent conditions were met.

Owen said he had been advised by Cue that it had received many calls from concerned customers and retail clients after hearing the Cue brand featured on radio, where the implication was that Cue was exploiting its workers.

"I am concerned at this development given the initiatives [Cue] has taken to assist us in eliminating exploitation in our industry in NSW."