Governments should pay close attention to the details of the latest Enforceable Undertaking announced by the Fair Work Ombudsman last week with the labour hire contractor, Boonah Packing Pty Ltd.
It clearly points the finger once again at the labour hire contractor as a significant source of ill treatment of seasonal workers in our industry.
Growcom does not condone the underpayment of workers in our industry by anyone. We actively educate our members on what they must do to ensure their businesses are compliant with the Fair Work laws. We hold regular seminars and offer the correct documentation on our website. That has paid off for the grower in this case.
The FWO found that more than 90 Korean backpackers had been underpaid thousands of dollars by the labour hire company while they were working on a farm in South East Queensland.
However, the investigation by the FWO in May found that the price paid by the grower to Boonah Packing for the labour to harvest carrots was sufficient for the labour hire contractor to in turn meet its obligations to pay the correct minimum wages under the Horticulture Award 2010.
Moreover, the farm business had a written labour hire agreement in place and had kept clear records of its dealings with the labour hire company.
Unfortunately the grower was named by the FWO and suffered reputational damage as a consequence of the farm business’s association with the labour hire company. However, the grower could prove that he had done the right thing and had thereby escaped a hefty fine from the FWO.
The onus is always on the labour hire company to pay the employees the correct minimum hourly casual rates. In this case, in addition to not paying its employees enough, the company did not have written agreements in place nor did it keep proper records for its employees.
Growcom’s experience is that on most occasions it is the labour hire contractors that are at fault. In our view enforcement against labour hire contractors needs to be stepped up and the FWO needs to be better resourced to ensure it can focus efforts on the people who are doing the wrong thing.
In recent days, the issue of substandard accommodation for backpackers has also been raised again.
Growers have no control of the arrangements which a labour hire company makes to house its workers. In fact, Growcom and our growers actively report those instances of appalling conditions that they hear of to the authorities.
It is clear that governments need to explore options whereby better accommodation is provided to seasonal workers, independently of the labour hire companies; accommodation that is economically priced and properly regulated by local councils.