IT was with some fanfare in June of last year that the Federal Government floated the concept of an Ag Visa that might be used to rapidly bring in Pacific Island workers to assist with this season’s fruit picking. As yet, stone fruits are now in season and the visa is still not ready and no pickers have arrived under it.
Fruit Growers Victoria are currently appealing to Australians to fill in the gaps that would normally be taken up by backpackers locked into mandatory visa extensions requirements or the Pacific Islanders.
Fruit growers are also facing supply chain difficulties with a shortage of pallets and the rising costs of shipping containers along with staff shortages brought about by the pandemic as it once more bites into the Victorian workforce.
On top of all this, the Fair work Commission handed down a decision last November that requires growers to pay a minimum hourly wage instead of the familiar piece rates that have slipped into disrepute.
The Australian Fresh Produce Alliance (AFPA) issued a statement following the handing down of the decision by the Fair Work Commission stating, “For too long, employers who willingly and actively participate in third-party audited employment schemes, engage openly with Unions and participate in industry discussions on workplace conditions, are the employers that are the subjects and targets of enforcement – which does nothing to address non-compliance.”
The Ag Visa requires bilateral agreements and if the recent tennis fiasco is anything to go by, only fully vaccinated workers will be admitted under the proposal. The problem there is that in many Island nations, the vaccination rates are less than ten percent.
Agriculture Minister, David Littleproud said the government had expected countries to have signed up to the ag visa by Christmas, but now expected that to occur in January. Industry leaders don’t see this falling into place until at least March if not later.
A recent notice from Fruit Growers Victoria said, “Workers are usually paid on a piecework rate (volume of fruit picked) so the harder they work the more money they make, though some orchards may offer an hourly award rate paid weekly or fortnightly – those applying are encouraged to discuss pay rates with the employer prior to commencing work. Fruit Growers Victoria supplies its members with a minimum piecework rate and all growers are bound by the Horticulture Award 2021.”
Continuing from the AFPA statement, “This separation of good and compliant employers from poor, non-compliant employers must now be addressed. Regulators, like the Fair Work Ombudsman must be well resourced to provide education materials on how to implement the Commission’s decision and enforce it. The implementation of this decision from the Fair Work Commission is critical to addressing the uneven playing field non-compliant employers have benefited from for far too long.
It is the middle of January and growers, as it is with many industries across Australia, are struggling to find sufficient workers in what is a time dependent industry.
“We really are relying on Victorians or those coming into the state to get the fruit off the tress and packed ready for distribution to markets and supermarkets,” says Michael Crisera, Growers Services manager at Fruit Growers Victoria.
