A grieving mother has accused marketing giant Appco of exploiting her young son and displaying callous and disrespectful behaviour when he was killed following a work function.

Key points: Michael Bowker was hit by a train and killed after a work event with an Appco subsidiary

Michael Bowker was hit by a train and killed after a work event with an Appco subsidiary His family has joined a class action against Appco, alleging staff exploited young workers

His family has joined a class action against Appco, alleging staff exploited young workers It comes as Appco sacks owner of one of its marketing firms over bullying allegations

Tracey Bowker has joined a Federal Court class action against Appco, which alleges the organisation underpaid its young charity workers and forced them to work long hours and take part in bizarre workplace rituals.

Michael Bowker, 22, worked for Torque Global, a subsidiary of Appco, in the inner-city Sydney suburb of Surry Hills, before he died while walking home from a "team event" last year.

Appco Australia says its subsidiary had offered to help the family in any way possible.

Mrs Bowker said her son was urged to work long hours selling charity vouchers and was expected to meet impossible sales targets.

"Some weeks Michael worked 50-plus hours and earned only $60 as he just missed targets for the week," she said.

"He worked in the rain and the blazing sun, even suffering heatstroke which caused him to miss a day of work."

On December 17, Michael, who lived in the Blue Mountains, came home from work to tell his father he was required to return to Surry Hills for a "team event".

"His father tried to discourage Michael from attending as he'd had a long day out in the sun and was quite tired," she said.

But Michael insisted he was expected to attend, she said.

"Michael's father dropped him at the train station and told him to have a lovely evening. That was the last time he saw Michael alive," Mrs Bowker said.

'They celebrated while we wept'

Mrs Bowker said her son had too much to drink at the work function and was told to go home.

"There was no attempt to make sure he got home safely. Nobody called a cab. Nobody offered to stay with him until he sobered up. He was told to go home and the rest of the group went off to another venue to socialise," she said.

Michael caught the train to Strathfield and fell asleep on the platform. He woke up and began walking along the train tracks.

In the early hours of December 18, 2015 he was struck and killed by a train.

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Mrs Bowker said she buried her son two days before Christmas and said nobody from Torque Global attended the funeral.

"In fact they went ahead and had their staff Christmas party on the same day — they celebrated while we wept," she said.

Mrs Bowker filed a worker's compensation claim against Torque Global which was rejected on the grounds that Michael was a contractor and not an employee.

She alleges a manager from Torque Global misled investigators, telling them team leaders were not invited to the team event and that the company never offered to pay for drinks.

This was despite text messages to the contrary on Michael's phone.

The manager also told the investigator the company had incurred a loss because Michael had not returned vouchers he had on him the day he died.

"We are appalled that a company involved in collecting money for charity would treat people in such a disrespectful manner, with no regard for their wellbeing or safety," Mrs Bowker said.

She said Fair Work Australia was currently investigating the case.

"Since Michael's death, Appco adverts now say 'contractor role' as if this will absolve them of all responsibilities and excuse them from observing fair work practices," she said.

Torque's head 'offered to help in any way possible'

Appco Australia's chief executive Martin Gaffney issued this statement to ABC News:

"Michael's death was a terrible tragedy which was distressing to all his colleagues. We cannot imagine the pain and anguish of his family. "Michael had been an independent contractor at Torque for six weeks and was building his skills solidly. "The evening gathering on 17 December was one of a series of occasional non-compulsory social gatherings for colleagues. On this night, about a third of the contractors attended. "One of Michael's colleagues tried to call him the next morning after he did not show up. There was no answer on his phone. "About 2:30 pm, Michael's mother called the managing director of Torque to inform him of Michael's death. "The MD was distraught and offered to help in any way possible. The office was closed the following day as a mark of respect. Michael's fellow contractors gathered to comfort each other. The company sent flowers to Michael's home. "In several phone calls over the next few days, Michael's mother made it clear she preferred that the MD and others at the marketing company did not attend the funeral. "She did not ask for any further help. She asked for Michael's files, which were supplied. Several weeks later, the family lodged an insurance claim which was handled by the insurer. "

Owner of marketing firm stood down over bullying allegations

The latest revelations came as Appco announced it had stood down the owner of a marketing firm allegedly involved in bullying and intimidation of young workers.

Appco has also launched an internal investigation into the treatment of charity workers.

In a separate statement Mr Gaffney said he had ordered its 64 marketing agencies to report any "suspected or known" bullying and harassment, and provide written assurances that they were not tolerating such behaviour.

"We will not tolerate, condone or turn a blind eye to the type of behaviour alleged," Mr Gaffney said.

He said he did not believe the improper practices were widespread or systemic.

Mr Gaffney said Appco had engaged two separate law firms to investigate the allegations of bullying and harassment and of "sham contracting", which Appco vigorously denied.

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