VFF calls for illegal workers amnesty

THE Victorian Farmers Federation is hoping to establish a dedicated agriculture visa to ensure the horticultural industry has access to the labour it needs to remain sustainable.
VFF horticulture president Emma Germano, whose family grows vegetables in Mirboo North, said the whole purpose of the visa would be to get fruit and vegetables picked.
In the meantime, the VFF Horticulture Policy Council wants an amnesty on workers without working visas.
“Because there is the perception a lot of people in the industry are without working rights, they are most open to being exploited by labour hire contractors or employers” Ms Germano said.
“The amnesty is a way of giving them protection under law and will help growers secure a legal labour force.”
Both the amnesty and a standalone agriculture visa were backed by federal MPs and senators in December after the joint parliamentary committee inquiry into modern slavery.
Ms Germano said horticulture was far more labour intensive than other agricultural industries, but illegal workers were not a problem just specific to horticulture.
“We will continue to lobby for labour policies and not just this issue, but we see (the amnesty) as a great place to start,” she said.
“From there we can build on it. We can’t expect the industry to become compliant over night. There needs to be a pathway to compliance.”
With some of the highest labour costs around the world, one of the issues challenging the Australian industry is remaining globally competitive.
Growers have to overcome the labour shortage, while absorbing costs in what can often be an uneven playing field.
“Some growers would like to be compliant, but don’t have access to a legal workforce,” Ms Germano said.
“We are reviewing all the labour options to find where there might be gaps to determine how industry and government can partner to make sure those gaps are filled.”
Ms Germano said growers have to vet every worker that comes onto their property, which becomes impractical.
She said some larger farms could employ hundreds of people each day and the workforce could be constantly changing.
“To have to vet all those people every single day of the week becomes really challenging,” she said.
“If the Australian Tax Office, the Fair Work Ombudsman and immigration struggle to do it, how do they expect growers to do it in an efficient manner?
“The fact we have to do that shows the government knows there are people without working rights.”
Ms Germano said the industry is trying to achieve a way forward, to ensure a vibrant, globally competitive and sustainable horticultural industry.
“There is so much pressure on growers, if small farms are forced out of business, it could threaten the food security of Australia,” she said.

Illegal work: Victoria Farmers Federation horticulture president Emma Germano said the industry needs an amnesty period to flush out illegal workers within the industry.

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Posted by Sarah Vella on Jan 16 2018. Filed under Rural News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry