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Damning claims have been levelled at one of Australia’s biggest fashion brands by workers with concerns over safety, unrealistic workloads and unpaid work.

Dangerfield and Princess Highway employees have, through their union, have made a series of claims against parent company Factory X, which have now been subject to a Fair Work Commission inquiry.

Mon Mulveney left their job as a Dangerfield employee in September after almost two years with the company and has since joined the Retail and Fast Food Workers Union (RAFFWU) as its organising officer.

Having experienced some concerning working conditions themself, which they described as “roadblocks”, they connected with others after leaving who shared similar grievances.

“I realised very quickly that even in a manager position, there were certain roadblocks that I was coming up against. Particular in terms of store staffing, and a number of safety concerns that I wasn’t able to overcome on my own,” Mulveney, who uses they/them pronouns, told news.com.au.

“And the more I spoke to my co-workers, the more I realised it was an issue that was being faced across the board.”

As more employees joined the union, the true scale of the alleged problems within the company began to reveal itself.

“Some of the bigger concerns have centred around store staffing levels and the amount of people that are rostered on a shift at a given time,” they said.

Working alone was a major safety concern, Mulveney said, given that if someone were to be injured or had a negative experience with a customer, there would be no backup.

“We’ve seen that happen. People get yelled at and verbally abused, unfortunately that’s a standard across the retail sector,” they said.

Staff had allegedly been harassed over the phone and placed in uncomfortable settings within the store – making them hesitant to work a shift on their own.

Police were allegedly called in one “disgusting” instance involving a male shopper who described in concerning detail what he would like his hypothetical girlfriend to do in the retailer’s see-through clothing.

“It’s not the sort of thing you want to hear … it was a lot and it was quite overwhelming,” Mulveney said.

“As a small individual, it poses a serious risk for myself.”

It wasn’t unheard of, they added, for brand new staff to be left to their own devices.

“I just don’t think that’s fair,” Mulveney said.

Casual workers, with no personal leave allowance, made up the majority of Dangerfield’s workforce and were worst affected because they wouldn’t be paid if they had to take time off.

Mulveney also said the expected workload for one person was unachievable, given they had to serve customers, unpack stock, pack online orders and try to maintain the store’s tidiness.

Staff also were only paid for the hours the store was open, and not the time it took to open and close, which could take up to 30 minutes.

Liveable wages and the abolishment of junior rates was the biggest concern for a current Dangerfield employee, who asked to remain anonymous.

“It is unfair that co-workers younger than myself are expected to do similar tasks and to work as hard, if not harder only to be paid significantly less,” she told news.com.au.

“We are all struggling under the current economic conditions and it is only just that we are paid what we deserve.”

Having knocked back an offer to “come to the bargaining table” with workers, an application for a Majority Support Determination was lodged by the union with the goal to compel the company to bargain.

The union at its first hearing last week presented signatures from dozens of Dangerfield and Princess Highway employees agreeing with the list claims outlined in its petition.

The commissioner requested hard copies of the signed petition with the goal to consolidate where a majority of Factory X’s workforce was represented.

If so, the union was hopeful the company would be forced to address the claims and ultimately improve conditions for its workforce.

“By denying these claims it shows a lack of care for and respect for their workers and the work that we do. We have the right to a safe and fair workplace,” the employee said.

Union members were also calling for uniform allowances, a base rate of $32/ hour, the abolition of junior rates and scheduled breaks for workers rostered on shifts of four hours and longer.

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They also wanted conversion rights for casual workers, for no worker to be working alone in a store for more than 30 minutes, an on-site security guard to be provided at a store when workers request one and one worker on every shift to be first aid-certified.

Factory X has been contacted for comment by news.com.au.

brooke.rolfe@news.com.au

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