Sandra Parker
November 22, 2018
An investigation targeting Australia’s Harvest Trail has recovered more than $1 million in unpaid wages for more than 2500 farm workers.
The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) took court action against eight employers for serious alleged breaches of the Fair Work Act, with four actions involving labour hire contractors.
Six matters have now been finalised resulting in more than $500,000 in penalties, and two remain before court.
Inspectors also issued 150 formal cautions to employers, 132 infringement notices and 13 compliance notices for breaches of workplace laws, and entered into seven enforceable undertakings.
Inspectors investigated 638 businesses connected with the harvesting of various crops including citrus, grapes, strawberries, cherries, mushrooms, apples and tomatoes.
They found more than half of these had breached workplace laws.
Offences included deliberate and significant underpayments of base pay rates, falsification of records, deliberate withholding of payslips, non-payments and unauthorised deductions.
Some businesses were randomly selected, while others were targeted based on tip-offs.
Several employers with ongoing compliance issues were investigated multiple times.
The inquiry found almost 70 per cent of Harvest Trail businesses employed visa holders.
More than a third of employers were paying piece rates or a combination of piece and hourly rates, which are acceptable under horticultural awards.
However, more than 100 of those employers were not engaging pieceworkers correctly, either by having no written piecework agreement or having an invalid piecework agreement.
Fair Work Ombudsman Sandra Parker said the inquiry exposed widespread non-compliance along the Harvest Trail.
“The FWO visited hundreds of horticulture businesses and found over half did not comply with workplace laws,” Ms Parker said.
“Our inquiry highlighted unacceptable practices of underpaying workers in one of Australia’s largest rural industries.
“Growers rely heavily on migrant workers to pick, pack and process crops, and these workers can be particularly vulnerable.
“Migrant workers may not seek help because of language and cultural barriers, concerns about visa status, or because they are unaware of their workplace rights.”
Ms Parker said all workers in Australia have the same rights and protections at work, regardless of citizenship or visa status.
“During this inquiry, we assisted hundreds of migrant workers to recover their pay, and any workers with concerns should contact us,” she said.
“We will continue to monitor Harvest Trail employers and prioritise any requests for assistance from workers.
“Growers and labour hire operators can expect to face further action if they do not comply with Australia’s workplace laws.”
Employers and employees can seek assistance at www.fairwork.gov.au or contact the Fair Work Infoline on 13-13-94.
