LEADING fashion brands are being made by exploited workers in filthy sweat shops ... here in Melbourne.

An investigation has exposed a network of thousands of outworkers paid less than $2 an hour on average who make garments that adorn rails in our big department stores.

One worker was paid $10 a dress, which was then sold in a shop for $600.

And this week clothes for Portmans, Jacqui-E, Pilgrim, Basque and Hi There were being made in revolting and potentially lethal conditions.

But this is not the slums of a Third World country it's Melbourne's inner suburbs.

Elizabeth Macpherson, of the Textile Clothing and Footwear Union of Australia, said: "No one thinks it is happening in Melbourne, but it's rife and in our backyard.

"I've seen conditions here that are worse than anywhere abroad.

"The problem is massive but people think because it's Australia, it does not happen here, the law would not allow it to happen.

"But I've heard stories and seen conditions so harsh and people treated so badly, it tears at your heart. It's exploitation at its worst and it's right here in Melbourne."

Ms Macpherson said shoppers needed to realise exactly what they were buying.

"Australian Made does not mean ethically made," she said.

"Consumers need to stop and think about the exploited mum who has been forced to get her children involved in making a dress, staying up the whole night, just so a fashion house can get their product in a store by Monday morning and being paid pittance for it."

The average hourly wage of a sweat shop employee is $8, but businesses pass on the bulk of their workload to outworkers who receive $2 on average.

Expenses such as running a car to pick up the material and delivering the garments and even the cost of cotton must also come out of their wage.

Outworkers in Australia work an average 14 hours a day, seven days a week to make ends meet.

Ms Macpherson said some fashion houses owed thousands to outworkers in a deliberate act to keep staff working for them.

"Workers are never told how much they are being paid for a job," she said.

"When all the garments are made and handed over, the fashion house tells them how much money they will receive. But they still don't get that money for two or three weeks and maybe longer.

"The fashion house creates a situation where the worker is owed money, so they have to keep working for them to have any chance of getting that cash.

"Other fashion houses have been known to ask for payments from outworkers to ensure they are given continued work. And they find the lamest excuse not to pay."

This year the union has helped 3000 sweatshop and outworkers receive better conditions and pay.

Run-down shops in Maidstone have their front windows painted to hide the conditions inside.

Stepping inside, gas bottles are attached to rusty heaters and an oven; a fire extinguisher lies on the floor without a hose; cracked tiles litter the floor and paint is peeling from the walls.

And there are rails and rails of dresses, all bearing "Made in Australia" tags.

In Footscray, a commercial factory doubles as an illegal home.

The union has also uncovered a factory in Altona North where eight women were working with water pouring through the roof.

There was hardly any light and water was on the floor.

In Springvale, workers were locked inside a factory so there was no way out if a fire started.

At another site, workers were wearing coats and earmuffs because it was so cold and the gas bottle for the heater had run out.

And in Sunshine, Ms Macpherson had a shotgun pointed at her and death threats made.

Tommy Clarke, of Ethical Clothing Australia, said: "Sweatshops are a big problem in Australia. Brands need to take practical steps to make sure they are not breaking the law. If consumers want to support efforts for a more ethical Australian clothing industry, it's important they look for the Ethical Clothing Australia logo when they are shopping."

Originally published as Workers exploited in sweat shops