BY IRMA VEP

MELBOURNE — With the dulcet tones of Dusty Springfield singing “Anyone Who Had a Heart” in the background, the Fairwear campaign launched its latest weapon in the campaign to end the exploitation of outworkers — a super hero by the name of No Sweat Nora.

The Fairwear campaign is pressing the Victorian opposition Liberal and National parties, which have a majority in state parliament's upper house, to pass the Fair Employment Bill. The National Party has indicated that it will reject the Bill. Employer groups are also opposed to the bill.

Nora, supported by two members of the Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union, scaled the balcony of Parliament House to deliver a Valentine's Day Heart to the leader of the opposition, Liberal Party leader Denis Napthine. They wanted to ask him to “have a heart” and pass the bill.

Fairwear spokesperson Pamela Curr described the bill as a step towards the elimination of unfair working conditions and wages for Victoria's outworkers and other workers in precarious employment. The Fair Employment Bill, if passed unamended, will give stronger protection to low-wage workers and will recognise outworkers as employees.

The Fair Employment Bill will debated in parliament on March 20.

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