When you go clothes shopping, do you think about who made the clothes? Or do you think only about the brand name?
In 1995 in Australia, there were 300 000 people making clothes for our major retailers, designers and suppliers of school uniforms. These poor people work for between $2 and $3 an hour. Their basic rights are being violated. They have no or minimal entitlements (holidays, sick leave etc), they work in conditions that risk their health and safety, and work long hours; up to 18 hours a day, seven days a week in order to meet unrealistic deadlines.
The majority of these exploited employees worked in metropolitan NSW and Victoria. They used to work in factories or shops where they were poorly paid and worked under adverse conditions. However, in recent times, with stricter controls on workers’ rights, sweatshops have started closing down. Instead, these employees work from home. They are called ‘outworkers’, also known as ‘homeworkers’.
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