Case Study - The Nguyen Family

The Nguyens have been working as outworkers for 7 years. They came to Australia from Vietnam and settled in a western suburb of Melbourne. This couple were unemployed for a number of years. They began to work at the house of a friend who was already an outworker. They worked with the friend long enough to learn to sew, then they began doing the work alone. They have reported making up clothes for Katies, Country Road, Atelier, Just Jeans, Myer, Target, Converse, Stussy, Kamikaze, PTO, Trisstar, Witchery, Diamond Cut and Ellen Tracey. They have stated they have never received rates equivalent to award rates and have relied on their daughters to assist them with the work over the last five years.

The family has four children aged from 3 to 18 years old who have been involved in the production of all the labels mentioned. They stated that they had no choice but to get their children to help them. Their average working day is 12 to 14 hours a day, 7 days a week. Their children work at machines sewing from 13 years of age. Before this they helped by folding turning garments out, sorting and cutting threads.

They stated that the children work an average of 3 hours a night and up to 10 hours a day on the weekend. They stated that the children each work on average approximately 35 hours per week. The parents average working week is 98 hours. They state that the family's average income for the total hours worked is approximately $500 to $700 a week.

They have stated that without their children's help they could not make enough to get by. They have also been subject to intense pressure and intimidation to complete work in less time than originally allocated.

They state they have no choice but to complete orders in the time the contractor requires as they risk not getting paid and discontinuation of work from the contractor. They state it is not uncommon to be given work to be completed in 5 days, but the next day begin receiving calls from the contractor to finish the work earlier. They have often been pressured to complete an order in 3 or 4 days and have had to go without sleep for at least a day to complete the order. There have been times they have had to get their children to assist them to work through the night to finish an order in time.

The Nguyens state they know many families who are in the same situation. They state that the non-payment for one, two or three lots of work at a time is used by contractors as a form of intimidation and harassment. Further, they are always worried if they will receive their money. They reported that there have been many instances where they have been told if they did not finish the work early they would not receive any payment.

They state in most instances they cannot say anything. They have no documentation and they are told they will get into trouble if they tell anyone. They state that companies that pay cash pay 20% to 25% less than if a contractor pays by cheque.