ALP pledge
Taking the form of $4 million released over four years, the pledge was announced on June 1 by Shadow Minister for Industrial Relations Julia Gillard. The funds would be directed to "supporting, developing and promoting the HCP" - a voluntary accreditation initiative run jointly by industry and the Textile, Clothing and Footwear Union of Australia (TCFUA) - Gillard confirmed.
"As part of its national approach to industrial relations, Labor will ensure, through national legislation or the harmonisation of State legislation, that all clothing outworkers across Australia are properly protected," Gillard said.
Her announcement also quoted outworker protection campaign FairWear's estimates of "around 329,000 homeworkers in the garment industry in Australia, many earning as little as $3.60 an hour and working up to seven days a week".
TCFUA Victorian state secretary Michele O'Neil welcomed the announcement. "Australian workers, whether they be in factories or working from home, deserve fair pay and decent conditions," she said.
However industry body the Australian Fashion Council (AFC) claimed the move fell short of addressing endemic flaws in the TCF industrial relations system, whose award made little distinction between outworkers and independent contractors.
AFC head Zoe Edquist described the move as akin to "putting a band aid on an ulcer".
Edquist said she was "very disappointed" the ALP had failed to consult key bodies including the AFC, the Council of Textile and Fashion Industries of Australia (TFIA) and the Textile Clothing and Footwear Association of Queensland (TCFAQ) before making the announcement.
"If you're going to commit $4 million you would think you'd talk to industry. It's quite obvious the ALP has only been talking to the union."
Edquist also took issue with the estimate of 329,000 homeworkers.
"Any money invested towards protecting outworkers is welcomed, but it's also very important that we gauge the full extent of the problem. Some of the $4 million could be spent on a thorough investigation into the figure of around 330,000 outworkers, which is a total absurdity. A Productivity Commission report in 1997 claimed the figure was more likely to be 23,000, and that was a decade ago."
TCFAQ vice chair Scott Robinson said the association applauded the Federal Government and the ALP's support of the Independent Contractors Act and agreed that genuine outworkers should not be exploited.
The TCFAQ also supported the need for reform of the award however. Robinson's company Onerve - along with fellow TCFAQ member Seaborne Clothing - recently had union allegations of outworker related award breaches dropped, on the basis the award's unclear definition of outworkers (as opposed to independent contractors) was unconstitutional.
"Independent contractors and their principle contractors including financial dealings between them are not the business of the TCFUA. The TCF industry should be free to trade as all other industries are."
A spokesperson for Julia Gillard said the ALP "fully supported genuine independent contractor relationships".
"However, many outworkers have been incorrectly labelled as independent contractors and have been denied employment-related entitlements as a result," the spokesperson said.
Liberal Party Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations Joe Hockey was unavailable for comment as Ragtrader went to press.
Edquist suggested part of the $4 million might be spent on assisting companies understand their obligations under the award.
"It's not as simple as simply reading a copy of the award. I'm a trained solicitor and I still find it baffling."
But ultimately such moves were pointless without an overhaul of the industrial relations system, she said.
"The HCP was designed to support the award, but the award is intrinsically flawed as it blurs distinctions between an outworker and an independent contractor. A dual system is useless if neither layer is effective."