A GUARANTEED minimum wage for seasonal workers is now in force and Sunraysia growers have been urged to start adhering to the new rules.
Citrus Australia’s Mildura-based policy officer, Kerry Thompson, says she has been hearing from growers that it will be tough when changes to the piecework rate are brought in.
But she says the reality is that the changes to the Horticulture Award took effect on April 28, and growers must start adopting them if they haven’t already.
“Despite the time and money which has been invested by Citrus Australia, along with 30 other peak industry bodies that sit on the National Farmers Federation’s Horticulture Council, the decision will not be reversed,” Ms Thompson says.
“The change occurred because of an application in 2020 to the Fair Work Commission by the Australian Workers Union and the United Workers Union to introduce an hourly floor in the piece rate and to require employers keep a record of pieceworkers’ hours (for seven years),” she said.
“The NFF Horticulture Council hired a lawyer to challenge the application, but they admitted it would be difficult to defend the challenge due to the left leaning nature of the bench.”
Two citrus growers were among those who spoke at the hearing in favour of maintaining the current system, although attempts to find workers to speak on the stand were to no avail.
“Despite attempts to explain the realities of the citrus harvest, not many of our arguments were seriously considered,” Ms Thomson said.
The decision was handed down in November 2021 and the NFF Horticulture Council was able to negotiate a later start date, and that the comparison of the piece rate against the hourly rate be done at the end of every day, rather than hourly.
Kerry says these were hard-won negotiations.
Once the decision was made, Citrus Australia gained independent legal advice but was told it would likely cost $250,000 to challenge the decision, with little likelihood it would be overturned.
“We know how frustrating this is, we emphathise with all growers, we’re happy to support them in enacting it and trying to find ways to improve the situation,”Ms Thomson said.
“Citrus Australia welcomes all feedback on how this change affects individual businesses. We hope there will be an opportunity to use this information to influence future decisions,” she said.
“In the meantime, growers should consider seeking financial or legal advice for their individual business.”
Ms Thomson has attended grower meetings and provided templates and further information on how to manage the new requirements.
These can also be accessed on the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) website.
Following the decision, Citrus Australia asked its members for questions they had on the changes, then met with FWO to seek answers.
Citrus Australia members can access these questions and answers in the members’ section of the website.
Kerry stressed growers cannot leave management of wages entirely to contractors either, because “growers remain responsible for what occurs on their farm”.
The FWO is conducting random visits to growers to make sure they are implementing the changes, as is the Victorian government, which has its own labour hire licensing laws.
