LabourHireInquiry
Introduction
PMAAustralia-NewZealandisa voluntary not-for-profit organisationwithmembersfromacrossthe wholevaluechain fromseed to retailinthe fresh fruit,vegetableandfloral(fresh produce)industries ofAustralia andNewZealand.PMAA-NZ is a stand-aloneaffiliateofthe globalProduceMarketingAssociation(PMA)basedinNewark,Delaware,USA.
PMAA-NZ’smembersincludeallthe major retailers,manyofthe leadingwholesalers,supplychaincompanies (packaging,transportation,marketers,farminputs, etc),industry organisationsandmost ofthe larger growersoffruit,vegetables andflowers.
Asan association,ourprimary objectiveisto help improveefficiencies andeffectivenessacrossthevaluechain andgenerategrowth forourindustry.Weare activelyengagedinnetworking,information,science andtechnology(especiallyfoodsafety andtraceability),attractinganddevelopingpeople,andadvocacy(promotion,issues leadership,etc).
LabourHire hasbecomeanimportant partof our advocacyrole asmanyof ourmembers(theleadingretailersand growers)have requested PMA A-NZ toseek solutionsfor them,followingallegations of malpracticein the industry.We are lookingatthisfrom a nationalperspective,notjust forVictoria.
Oursubmissionwillbebriefandto the point andwillhighlight what the industryisproactivelyendeavouringtodo to improvethesituation.
Whatis atstake?
In Australia,the fresh produceindustry hasan approximatevalueapproaching$10 billion,withVictoriaandQueenslandbeingthedominant productionstates.95% ofthe fresh producethat isconsumed inAustralia islocally-grown andthisislikelyto remain at thesehighlevelsdueto thestrict quarantineprotocolsforimportedproduct and thefreshnessofproductthat locally-grownprovides.About 10% ofAustralia’sfresh produceproductionisexported andthisisan areaofgreatpotentialgrowthdueto Australia’s proximity to the fast-growingAsianmiddle-classconsumermarket.
Due toits seasonalnatureandebbsandflowsinproduction,the fresh produceindustry willalwaysrelyoncasuallabour. It isincreasinglydifficult to findcasuallabourwithin Australiaandmanyunemployedorunder-employedpeople (who arecapableofdoingthistypeofwork)arenotpreparedto movetothe ruralareasto seekthese employment opportunities.
Theindustry isincreasinglyrelyingonpeoplefromoverseas whose primary motivesare travel,study ortemporaryworkleading up topermanent residency,i.e.not necessarilyto pursue acareer
inagricultureorthe freshproduce industry.The freshproduceindustry is nowtheleadingagriculturalemployerofpeople enteringthe country under specialvisaprograms.
Thereforethefreshproduceindustrywouldfaceconsiderablehardshipifit didnot haveaccesstooverseasworkers andmanyproducers oflabour-intensivecropswouldcollapse.Withthe significantopportunity forindustry growthinexport markets,the industrywillneedevenmoreoverseasworkers infuture.
Whatarethesources of overseasworkers?
Workingholidaymakervisas
In 2013-14, a totalof239,592[1]workingholidaymakervisasweregranted:
- 229,378working holidaymakers(417 visa)
-183,428firstyearvisas(down12.8percent) and
-45,950second yearvisas(up 18.2percent)
- 10,214working holidaymakers(462visasubclass)(up13.3percent).
Analysisoftheworkundertakenbyworkingholidaymakers showsthatthe twodominantindustriesattractingworkingholidaymakers are‘accommodation andfoodservices’(35%) and‘agriculture,forestry andfishing’ (26%).[2]Working holidaymakerschoose to work onfarmsoverwhelminglybecausethis gives themaccess tothesecondyearvisa.Approximately 90per centofworkingholidaymakers(41,319)who qualifiedforthe secondyear visadidagriculturalwork.
SeasonalWorkerprogram(PacificIslandnationsandEastTimorese)
Thetotalnumber ofworkerplaces underthe SeasonalWorker Programiscappedat 12,000overfouryears.
In 2013-2014, 99per cent of places allocatedto the horticulturesectorwerefilledundertheSeasonalWorkerProgram.
TheSeasonalWorker programhassomeimportant benefits over theholidaymaker visaprogram:workers tendto stayonthesameproperty fortheentirety ofthe season;thesameworkers return to the sameproperty(oratleastthe sameindustry)each year; andstrongerconnectionsare formedbetweenthe workersand theemployers andcommunities.
It isa highercostoptionforemployers,althoughthisislargelyoffsetbygreaterproductivity andlower costsoftraining andinduction.
457visaprogram(skilledtemporarymigrants)
Thetotalnumber of457visasgrantedAustralia widein2013-14 was51,940.Ofthese, only 880(or
1.7per cent)weregrantedto applicants inthe Agriculture,Forestry andFishingindustries.[3]
[1]DepartmentofImmigrationandBorderProtection WorkingHolidayMakerVisaProgrammeReport30June2014
[2]TanY,RichardsonS,Lester L,BaiTandSunLEvaluationofAustralia’sWorkingHolidayMaker(WHM)Program27February2009,pageII.
Consistent withtheallindustries trendfor2013-14, demandforskilledworkersonthe 457visaprogramfellinagriculture, forestry andfishing,by36.4 per cent.[4]
Thisvisaprogramisnot relevant tothissubmissiontothe Inquiry.
Whatarethe main issues?
Traditionally,the majority ofoverseasworkers camein asback-packersfromtheUK (andotherEuropeancountries).Morerecently,theseoverseasworkersarecomingin fromAsian andothercountries,withlower levelsofEnglishspoken andhigherdifferences betweentheAustralianratesofpayandwhat they couldearn intheir home countries.
Asa result,therearenow manymorelabourhirecompaniesthatare ofthe sameethnicbackgroundsasthe overseasworkers.Thereasons forthisare obvious:growers do not havetheskillsto dealwithworkers whospeak limited Englishandare not awareoflocallaws; theworkersfindit easier to dealwithcontractors whonot onlyspeak theirlanguagebut canalsofindthemwork.
Withanincreaseinnewlabourhirecompaniesandworkersfroma widerangeof countries,therearenowmoreopportunities foroverseasworkersto beexploited.Are they beingpaidthe correctwages?Aretheirdeductionsforaccommodation andtransportfair?Aretheirlivingconditionsreasonable? Aretheypayingthe right amount oftax?Aretheirworkingconditionscompliant withlocalregulations? Arethey receivingalltheirentitlements?Arethere grievanceproceduresinplace?Havethey receivedtheappropriateinduction andtraining?
It isalmost impossibletodeterminehowbigthe problem is.Anecdotalevidenceisthatthere areonlya smallnumber oflabourhirecompanies (andgrowers who hiredirect)whoarenot doing theright thingbytheirworkers.
Outsideofthe employers,labourhirecontractors andemployees, therearenumerous otheragencies andorganisationsthathave avestedinterestinthe issues mentionedabove,such as:
1.The ATO
2.Thepolice(transportvehicles,etc)
3.Localcouncils(accommodation,etc)
4.FairWorkOmbudsman
5.Unions
6.Customersandconsumers
Therefore,the fresh produceindustry needsto workwithmultiplestakeholdersto get to the rootcausesofthe problems and to findsolutionsthatprevent theseissues fromarising.However theindustry iskeento do whatit canwithin its control.
How is industry responding?
Fromthe outset,followingthe ABCexpose,PMAA-NZhasbeenkeento explorewhat industrycouldbedoingforitself, rather thanwaitingfortheoutcomes fromvarious Inquiries(includingthisone).Thisisnot to saythatit wants to do thisinisolation frominvestigationsintoareasthatarefaroutsidethe scope andremit ofthe industry.
ThereforePMAA-NZdecidedto workcloselywiththeNationalFarmersFederationto ensurethattherewasseen asan across-agriculturesolution.
Thefirst step wasto holdaForuminAugust 2015,to which wasinvited a broadrangeofover 100representatives ofvarious stakeholders,includingpoliticalparties,governmentdepartments,industry organisations,unions,growers,retailers,overseas workers,churchgroups,labourhirecompanies,etc.Thepurpose ofthisForumwascanvasthe viewsfromallsides andattempt to findthe areasofcommonality.
Sincethe Forum,PMAA-NZ andNFFhaveheldnumerousmeetingswithretailers,foodservicecompanies,industry organisations, government entities (such asFairWorkOmbudsman),unions,non-government organisationssuch asAustralianHumanRightsCommission,industryorganisationsandgrowers,withthe followingoutcomes sofar:
1.NFFandPMAA-NZhavedevelopedBest PracticeGuidingPrinciplesforgrowerswhoemploy overseasworkersdirectlyor who use labourhirecontractors.
2.These GuidingPrinciplesdocumentshavebeendistributedvia retailers andwholesalers totheirsuppliersandmorebroadlythroughPMAA-NZ andotherindustry organisations;
3.NFFandPMAwillscope outanddevelopother‘tools’that canbedisseminated tohelpgrowersdealwiththisissueintheirbusinesses;theseother ‘tools’couldinclude:
a.Producinginformationwebinarsonthe subject;
b.ProvidingLabourHireContract templatesforgrowersto use iftheyuse labourhirefirms;;
c.Providingtemplates (aspartofthese contracts)forlabourhirefirmsto declarethatthey havemettheir obligations;
4.Weare stressingtogrowersthat they needto beproactiveabout managingrisksto theirbusinessand that they have aduty ofcareinrespectoflabourhire,whetherwith the useofthe above-mentioned materialsorthroughother means;
5.Labourcontractor audits couldbeconsidered,wherelabourcontractors fundself-auditsto gainwork–it wasagreedthere wasmorework todo before anysuch schemecouldbeimplemented;
6.Alternatively,a preferredsupplier approach to dealing with labourcontractorscould beconsidered.We wouldneedto liaise withACCCon anyissues to address,particularlyinlight ofthe variousindustryCodes ofConduct;
7.Groweraudits couldbeinsisted uponbymajor retailersto ensurethat theyhaveinplacethechecks andbalances asrequiredbytheirinternalpolicies–anyaudit scheme wouldthenaimto bedeveloped toa harmonisedstandardto prevent unnecessary duplicationofaudits.
Summary
Thereisno doubt that theABCFourCornersexposéhasgalvanisedthe fresh produceindustry andmanyotherorganisations to seriouslylook at the labourhireissueintheindustry.Whilst thegeneralconsensus isthat most companies are doingthe right thing,the fewwho arenot aregivingthe industry a badname.
At the sametime it isrecognisedthatit isaverycomplexissueand,inspiteofgoodlegislation andpolicingthat existsinAustralia,there are opportunities forabuse andexploitation.
PMAA-NZ, alongwith manyofits members,is proactivelytaking measuresto reducethe riskofthisexploitationoccurring.That said,it recognises thattherearemanyareas outsideofits remitthatalsoneedto be lookedat to identifyareasforimprovement.Therefore aholisticapproach tofindingsolutionsisneeded.
Yourssincerely,
MichaelWorthington
ChiefExecutive Officer
PMAAUSTRALIA-NEWZEALANDLIMITED