On Friday 10th February 2012 Shadow Minister for Industry, The Hon Sophie Mirabella MP, met with TFIA CEO Jo Kellock and brand owners, manufacturers, contractors and outworkers in Collingwood, Victoria to listen to the problems raised about minimum hours of work, outworker deeming provisions, right of entry, and the ability to operate as an independent contractor.

Christine Metcalfe and Jenny Layton, Directors of The Ark Clothing Co, talk about why flexible work arrangements are important to them and women working from home.  They discuss the seasonal nature of fashion and why its important to be allowed to make a choice between working as a contractor or an employee.

Toni Stalls, Managing Director of Integral-T, describes how she started her business from home and in doing so she sees a bright future for herself and the TCF industry.

Jo, a machinist at Collier Clothing, has worked for 18 years in the TCF industry sewing for local brands. She has made a valuable contribution to the sector and would like the right to choose to whether to be a contractor or an employee.

Peter McDonald, Managing Director of Ramsay McDonald Group, is disgusted that the TCF industry was not represented at the Senate Hearing into the The Fair Work Amendment Bill.

Denise has worked in the industry for years and it was always her dream to work from home in her own business. If the new legislation comes in, Denise says she will have to sell her equipment and go back to work as an employee, losing the flexibility and variety she has now, and earning a much lower wage.

Emmanuelle, a clothing cutter at Gouda, believes the legislation is putting his job in jeopardy as it will force remaining TCF manufacturers to move offshore. He wonders why the TCF industry is being targeted, when compared to the much lower rates paid in hospitality and the taxi industry among others.

This manufacturer says that guaranteeing outworkers 15-20 hours of work a week is impossible due to the seasonal nature of the industry. He believes his business could not possibly survive under the new legislation and asks what will happen to the workers then?

Phil Endersbee, Managing Director of Wilderness Wear Australia, disagrees with claims at the Senate Hearing that there are upto 15 times the number of 38,000 TCF workers that are outworkers being paid $5-$6 and being exploited. He believes the government is introducing legislation to make a number of changes that will put pressure on the industry unnecessarily.

Phil Endersbee, Managing Director of Wilderness Wear Australia, believes the TCFUA does have a role to play in the marketplace, but it concerns him that the Union has 6000 members compared to 38000 employed in the industry. It is not fair to give the Union carte blanche to enter premises - the legislation should be structured so that Fair Work would be able to enter premises, not the Union.

Phil Endersbee, Managing Director of Wildernes Wear Australia, feels that it's time to take the hysteria out of the outworker problem, and define exactly what it is - ie what are the actual numbers of exploited outworkers. Once the problem is defined, we can come with a fair solution for players on both sides of the fence.

RMIT graduate believes the proposed legislation makes it realistically unachievable for new designers to start small and break into the industry.

Vita has worked a a machinist at Gouda for eight years, and is happy with the way she works currently. It suits her better to be an outworker as she likes the flexibility to work from home and look after her children.

Vita, a machinst with Gouda, is very worried that she will be out of a job if the proposed legislation is introduced. Foong also works for Gouda and is the 2nd generation in Australia working in the industry. He is happy with the way things are - working from home, flexible hours. "Leave us alone!"

The Shadow Minister for Industry, The Hon Sophie Mirabella MP, believes the proposed legislation is killing incentive, killing opportunity, killing choice and is going to kill significant parts of the industry.