Many farmers are continuing to defy workplace laws designed to protect vulnerable workers, including failing to provide them with proper payslips, a compliance push by the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) has found.
Since December, inspectors have targeted more than 200 farms across the country and found that in some areas as many as 60% were non-compliant with workplace laws. It’s a result the National Farmer’s Federation (NFF) described as “troubling”.
It comes after new laws requiring farmers to start paying a minimum wage to pickers under the horticultural award came into effect in April.
The FWO would not say if any of the infringements were to do with the award changes, but compliance notices are typically served to employers when they have underpaid workers.
“We are strategically targeting employers in 15 hotspot regions across two years where we have identified high risks of non-compliance,” Fair Work Ombudsman Sandra Parker said.
“This sector engages many vulnerable workers, such as migrants, who may be unaware of their rights or unwilling to speak up.”
In December 2021, before the new minimum wage took effect, inspectors visited 33 businesses around Coffs Harbour and Grafton in New South Wales, finding that 20 of them were non-compliant with workplace laws.
Of these, 11 breached record-keeping and payslip obligations, causing them to be fined a total of $19,594.
“Record-keeping is the bedrock of compliance and it is concerning that inspectors have needed to issue nearly $20,000 in infringement notices for payslip and record-keeping breaches,” Parker said. “We expect employers to get this right.”
In the Riverland region of South Australia, inspectors investigated 32 businesses in February and July this year and have issued seven fines for $13,764, with the remaining investigations continuing.
Investigations are also continuing across the Wide Bay and Moreton Bay regions in Queensland and northwest Victoria, with inspections expected to continue throughout 2023.
In Victoria, the FWO said in a statement: “Inspectors identified potential issues including the use of group piece rates; lack of details on payslips and a lack of record-keeping; employees not being aware who their employer is; lack of clarity on superannuation; and overtime and casual loadings not being paid.”
Executive director of farms for the United Workers Union, Jeannette Armstrong, said the results were “unsurprising”.
“Unfortunately, there are still lots of issues with exploitation and wage theft in the Australian horticulture industry,” Armstrong said. “We continue to hear reports and see evidence of group piece rates, cash-in-hand payments, below-award rates, and other forms of wage theft.”
The sector has suffered from an acute labour shortage, with The Food Supply Chain Alliance estimating the industry is short at least 172,000 workers from paddock to plate.
The government is expected to bring in an additional 40,000 Pacific Island workers to help alleviate the shortage.
Migrant Workers Centre chief executive, Matt Kunkel said the high rate of non-compliance demonstrated there was still a long way to go to stamp out exploitation on Australian farms.
“These findings highlight the need for whistleblower protections so migrant workers can report industrial wrongdoings without fear of losing their visa,” Kunkel said.
“The horticulture minimum-wage guarantee was a huge win for workers and their unions. The government should now take steps to remove the remaining barriers migrant workers face in reporting exploitation.”
NFF president Fiona Simson said it “was troubling” to see such a large proportion of businesses failing to meet the legal standard.
“We know farmers overwhelmingly want to do the right thing, but the complexity of employment laws often stands in the way.
“We make no excuses though for anyone who deliberately breaks the law.”
The NFF has called for tougher penalties to crack down on businesses who intentionally do the wrong thing by their employees, she said.
“Agriculture is currently suffering a crippling worker shortage. If we want to attract more workers we need to take a serious look at compliance.”
