Australian fruit farmers face harvest headache
Not enough seasonal workers, and they are deemed underpaid by industrial relations tribunal
NASHDALE, AUSTRALIA: In near-perfect conditions, thanks to abundant rain and healthy trees, Australian fruit grower Michael Cunial's cherry orchard looks set to yield a bumper crop. He has just one problem: the harvest.
Like many farmers in Australia, during harvests he relies on seasonal workers, many of whom have been shut out of the country since its international borders closed in March last year to halt the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
Now, even if he can find workers for the cherry harvest, he may have to pay them more than in previous years.
In common with most Australian fruit growers, Mr Cunial has paid seasonal workers for what they can pick. But the system has left many workers earning less than the minimum wage, so the rules may be about to change.
"The system of a piece rate tends to make sense," the fruit grower said at his 50ha farm, Curinya Orchards, in Nashdale - about four hours' drive from Sydney.
"If you want to have a go, you can actually make really good money. And if you're hopeless, you don't."
Mr Cunial said he expects "really big" cherries this year, which will probably be ready for harvest in early- to-mid-December.
He hires about 50 seasonal workers for the annual harvest and pays them piece rate.
But the system has been condemned by the Fair Work Commission, Australia's industrial relations tribunal.
Ruling on a complaint by the Australian Workers Union, it said seasonal farm workers should get the minimum hourly wage of A$25.41 (S$25).
"The totality of the evidence presents a picture of significant underpayment of pieceworkers in the horticulture industry when compared to the minimum award hourly rate," the commission found.
Working hard is not always enough.
Victor, a young Frenchman who preferred not to be identified by his full name to protect his employment prospects, had to work 88 days in farming to be allowed to stay a second year - a condition of the working holiday visa.
"I have worked in the vineyards. I had to wrap the branches around wire. We were paid 11 cents a branch. I was among the top 10 per cent and I still only got A$9 an hour, less than half the minimum wage," he said.
After three years of working full-time in Mr Cunial's cherry orchard, Mr Remy Genet manages the seasonal workers.
"I have got guys who can fill 60 lugs (fruit crates), earn A$700 in a day, and others who can only fill nine lugs in the same field. The difference is the motivation," Mr Genet said.
The number of young people in Australia on working holiday visas dropped from nearly 120,000 in December 2019 to 39,000 last year. - AFP
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