‘Hidden’ garment workers in Australia are vulnerable to exploitation while sewing from home

In her garage among spools of candy-coloured thread, Ghet Ky sits, focused, at her sewing machine.

She’s a garment worker who sews from home — also known as an “outworker” — and her garage has been her workplace for the past 25 years since she migrated from Vietnam.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, one of her employers asked her to make face masks, offering to pay her 80 cents per mask.

When she did the maths, it came to about $7 per hour, or…