Marginal workers and CLE – achieving access to justice Kingsford Legal Centre

Background Relationship between KLC and AWAW- project built on a pre-existing relationship since – KLC works with Legal Aid NSW to develop CLE workshops around workplace problems faced by Asian women AWAW – network of Asian women workers Aim – to gain access to vulnerable workers who may not be aware of their employment rights

The women and their work Participants were aged between 25 and 60. Most of the women had basic English. Some of the women were unemployed at the time of the workshops All of the women expressed a negative experience working in Australia. Mostly, women were employed in roles that did not require English skills – such as cleaners and on production lines in factories

Methodology 6 workshops in Auburn (Mandarin), Hurstville (Cantonese) and Cabramatta (Vietnamese) 8-12 attendees at each workshop First workshop: women’s experiences in the workplace Discussed common problems Second workshop: case study focusing on women identifying issues and how to respond Sharing ideas and preventative steps

What worked well Timing the sessions with English classes- natural fit Using AWAW’s existing network Language-group specific sessions Small workshop style allowed for good participation Using KLC students who spoke the same language as participants

Challenges For KLC- timing. The workshops were held on weekends Not always the same attendees at follow-up session Maintaining relationship with AWAW

Employment law issues raised Lack of understanding of employment law rights: Aware of leave entitlements, but not how they applied Lack of documentation No superannuation Underpayments Cash in hand payment Casual vs permanent employment

Follow up with KLC 12 women came to KLC for individual advice on: Performance issues at work Cash in hand payments, under minimum wage Working for trial periods Injuries at work Sick leave Casual vs permanent employment Long service leave

Factsheets Women had common experiences, case studies could have wider application KLC worked with Legal Aid NSW to develop a series of factsheets on: Getting hurt at work Unfairly losing your job Permanent or casual employment Discrimination at work Getting the right pay Superannuation

Karina wants to be paid superannuation Karina is 24 years old and has just started a new job in a restaurant. When she started her boss asked her to fill out a Tax File Declaration. Karina asked her boss whether or not she should also provide her superannuation details but her boss said that she would not be paid any superannuation. Karina is not sure about her superannuation entitlements. Case-study- Karina

Any employee who is between 18 and 69 years old and paid $450 or more (before tax) in a month is entitled to Superannuation. This means your employer must pay an additional 9% of your wage into a superannuation fund. You will be able to access this money when you retire. Until then your superannuation fund can invest the money for you. You should contact your superannuation fund for details about how your money is invested and to make sure you receive statements. Your statements will show how much superannuation your employer has paid on your behalf, what fees you are paying and how your investments are performing. Some Modern Awards have extra rules about superannuation. For example in Karina's case, the Restaurant Award says that employees who make more than $350 per month are entitled to superannuation. If you are not getting paid any superannuation and your employer will not agree to pay you, you should report this to the Australian Taxation Office on or (for multilingual). Case-study- what can Karina do?