Outworker Story: Anh

We would like to introduce you to Anh, who is a Melbourne-based outworker.

Anh learned how to sew and tailor clothing back home in Vietnam when she was a girl. She moved from Vietnam to Melbourne in 1991 after marrying her husband and started working in a clothing factory in Melbourne. After having her daughter, she decided to become an outworker so that she could look after her daughter at home.

Anh is a skilled worker and makes high-end fashion garments for women, including dresses, shirts and jackets. She receives the cut fabric in bundles and sews together the garment, which includes everything except for the buttons, buttonholes, pressing and trimming.

Working from home meant that Anh was isolated and without support, because she no longer had people at work to talk to. She was put in touch with the Textile, Clothing and Footwear Union, and has since received a lot of support and information about outworkers’ rights.