#labour shortage on Australian farms | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

blurban-form · 1 year

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Strawberry Harvesting / Agricultural Labour

Did not expect this to be on a Bluey.

Australia has huge tracts of farmland but like in other countries like the USA there can be a shortage of workers to harvest crops.

It’s gruelling work: Harvesting work is tiring and is not very interesting, typically doesn’t pay well, and the farms tend to be in the middle of nowhere.

The work tends to attract immigrant labor, and often travellers on special farm work visas.

One website I saw said the shifts in Australian farms can be 10 hours long, the day starts at 5 AM, and the season is typically 90 days long. You’re paid on how many acceptable strawberries you harvest.

In “Explorers”, while trying to find their way to the school after their GPS dies, Jack’s Dad and baby Lulu pull up to the side of the road where workers are picking strawberries in a large field.

Jack's Dad: Hi!

Female Doberman worker: Hola!

Jack's Dad: I'm trying to find my son's school.

Female Doberman worker: You don't know where your son's school is?

Lulu: It's because he just puts satnav on and zones out.

Jack's Dad: Yeah, well, I'm not from around here, so...

Female Doberman worker: Neither are we. I'm from Argentina.

Male Bulldog worker: And I'm from France.

Jack's Dad: Rightio. Well, can I borrow your phone?

Female Doberman worker: Oh, yeah. Here.

Jack's Dad: Ah! Thank you.

Female Doberman worker: …but there’s no reception.

Jack's Dad: Oh, man.

Female Doberman worker: Would you like a strawberry?

Lulu: Yes please!

Jack’s Dad and Lulu are soon back in the road, still lost, but with a plastic container of strawberries.

This is one of the few blue-collar workplaces seen on Bluey to date. Even though it’s seemingly innocuous, this does not look like a great place to work.

Hardly anyone is wearing hats

No overhead shade shelter things

No cell phone reception

Workers must have been buses in, no vehicles in the area(?)

At least the workers appear happy enough, at least the two that talk to Jack’s Dad, and they can share strawberries with passers-by…

#Bluey agriculture #Bluey strawberries #Bluey foreign workers #Bluey

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sageglobalresponse · 2 months

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Work visas: 10 countries with positive outlook for Nigerians in 2024

Over the year, there have been around 10 work visa policies with a positive outlook for foreign talent ahead of 2024.

These are the countries Nairametrics captured in 2023 which invited foreign talent to occupy positions based on skills shortages in certain occupations, and in-demand skills.

About work visas for foreign skilled talent

In today’s globalised economy, work visas are pivotal for cross-border talent mobility, typically requiring employer sponsorship.

This process involves initiating and supporting visa applications, providing job offers, filing necessary paperwork, and fulfilling legal obligations for foreign workers to work in a different country legally.

Work visa sponsorship offers several advantages which include access to global talent, filling skill gaps, enhancing diversity and cultural exchange, and retaining valuable foreign employees.

This article will highlight the immigration policies of some countries which Nairametrics captured in 2023, and the outlook for 2024 for the Nigerians seeking immigration opportunities for work.

On the other hand, it will also look into countries clamping down on work visas and migration in general. It is worth checking the official immigration sites of these countries for more comprehensive information.

Germany

Germany announced that it has 21 pathways to work, live or study in the country

Job shortages are in the following sectors: Agriculture, Construction, and Transportation

Germany has also simplified the process for skilled workers to obtain the Blue Card visa, notably by allowing foreign workers to get a job at a lower salary threshold.

Holders of the Blue Card visa also benefit from an accelerated path to permanent residency, becoming eligible as early as 21 months after relocating to Germany.

Finland

Finland announced that it plans to increase work-based migration to 30,000 individuals annually, as the country has been actively encouraging international workers to address the growing labour crisis through its initiatives.

Some of the initiatives include the ‘Work in Finland’ and ‘Talent Boost’ programs and it has also positioned itself as a hub of opportunities for researchers, and innovators

Finland is actively seeking skilled professionals globally as a result of the rising worker shortage affecting vital sectors like healthcare, personal care, social work, daycare teaching, and construction.

New Zealand

Nairametrics learns that from next year, New Zealand will expand its Green List to include a wide range of professions in construction, information technology, automotive, and engineering which would enable them to utilize the Green List visas when seeking specialized talent not readily found among the local workforce.

Other changes also involve elevating the Recognised Seasonal Employer quota to 19,500 for the upcoming 2023/24 season.

NZ also introduced a new visa program for eligible care workers providing an opportunity for permanent residence, work, and study in New Zealand including partners and dependent children under 24 in the application.

Australia

Victoria Province in Australia opened applications for two visa pathways that allow you to work, study, and live permanently in Australia without a job offer through the Visa 190 or Visa 491 routes.

These visas do not require a job offer, and you can become an Australian citizen if eligible. However, the selection is based on various factors including an IELTS test.

Italy

Italy announced it is allocating 136,000 work visas for non-EU workers by 2024 which may present opportunities to foreigners in these occupations who aspire to live and work in Italy.

These workers are to fill roles across 10 in-demand professions nationwide. 

Canada

The Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program (SINP) in Canada broadened opportunities for immigrants in Saskatchewan.

This expansion includes 279 additional occupations, ranging from farm labourers to truck drivers, retail sales, nurse aides, and equipment operators.

Canada also announced that employers in seven selected sectors (Food Manufacturing, Wood Product Manufacturing, Furniture and Related Product Manufacturing, Accommodation and Food Services, Construction, Hospitals, and Nursing and Residential Care Facilities) may continue to hire up to 30% of their workforce in low-wage positions through the TFWP.

Earlier, Canada announced a new policy to facilitate the approval of family reunification for study applicants.

Singapore

Singapore currently needs 260,000 professionals across Technology, Banking, and Engineering.

Singapore is actively addressing the repercussions of the pandemic-induced departure of foreign workers by countering it with a surge of 260,000 new hires, compensating for the loss of 194,000 foreign workers during the pandemic.

The booming tech industry is a driving force behind its economic growth, and the rapid expansion of technology hubs has resulted in this workforce gap.

Netherlands

Netherlands has 442,000 job openings with about 35,000 positions in the public sector

The thriving sectors are Agriculture and food, Creative Industries, Chemicals, Energy, IT, Health and life sciences, Logistics and Services, and hospitality.

The in-demand occupations are: Engineers, technical professionals, IT specialists, finance experts, and individuals in sales, marketing, and customer service are in-demand occupations

Tax advantages are available for eligible international employees

Cyprus

Cyprus has introduced its Golden Knowledge Programme for foreign nationals in the ‘research and innovation’ sector to apply for expedited citizenship through a fast-track process. 

Applicants are therefore required to have a physical presence in Cyprus, establishing genuine connections with the island.

Croatia

Croatia is currently grappling with labour shortages, particularly in industries such as construction and building trades, automotive, culinary arts, and food production, as well as information technology and software development.

According to data released by the Croatian Employment Service (HZZ), the number of published job vacancies is 16,832.

Oman

The conversion of Oman visitor or tourist visas into work visas has been suspended.

This alteration in immigration regulations became effective on October 31st.

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia has implemented more stringent visa regulations for hiring domestic workers from overseas by introducing an official digital platform.

One of the restrictions the government places on the platform is that employers seeking a visa must be 24 years old or older.

United Kingdom

The UK government stated that effective from spring 2024, skilled worker visa applicants must earn £38,700 ($48,900), up from the current £26,200 ($33,000) to obtain a work visa.

This stringent immigration reform aims to significantly reduce annual immigration numbers by hundreds of thousands. 

This was facilitated by the Home Secretary James Cleverly who asserted the need for “robust action” to curb authorized immigration, which reached a record high of nearly 750,000 in 2022. 

Earlier, the country increased student visa application fees by 285%

The UK was among the countries that opted to discontinue its Golden Visa program

The United Kingdom (UK) government announced restrictions that will most likely stop Nigerian students and other nationalities studying in the country from bringing their families over.

Sweden

Sweden implemented a significant increase in the required salary threshold for work permit holders, affecting both first-time applicants, and those seeking permit renewals, including those with pending applications. This applies to non-EU workers

Commencing from November 1st, the minimum monthly salary for work permit holders was   increased from 13,000 kronor to 27,360 kronor which is 80 per cent of Sweden’s median

The goal of this change is to decrease per cent of labour immigration and address issues related to fraud and misuse connected to labour immigration.

Analysis of countries with a positive outlook for work permits 

Amongst the countries discussed, Germany, Singapore, New Zealand, and other countries appear to have a positive outlook.

These countries extended work permits to foreign nationals through extended pathways, in-demand occupations due to labour shortages, and relaxed immigration rules.

Other countries which initiated programs to attract foreign workers include Finland, Croatia, and Cyprus.

Finland introduced its ‘Work in Finland’ and ‘Talent Boost’ programs. Similarly, Cyprus introduced a new pathway called the Golden Knowledge Programme for foreign nationals in the ‘research and innovation’ sector.

Countries seeking to reduce migration 

Conversely, countries such as the United Kingdom, Sweden, and Oman are actively seeking to curb immigration levels.

Immigration in the United Kingdom reached a record high of nearly 750,000 in 2022 which is why the country has placed a limit on care workers and other health workers and has introduced measures such as higher salary threshold and restriction on bringing dependents.

In the Middle East, countries such as Oman which used to allow the conversion of visitor visas to work visas are no longer doing so.

#sage response #jobs #uk #oman visa #saudi arabia

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theborderupdates · 1 year

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Fruit Farm Calls for Employee-Sponsorship Channel in New Pacific Visa

For the last three years, Quinnita Billy and her husband, George, have been returning to Australia in the harvesting season to work on farms.

“When we are here it’s like a homeland, especially when we see all of our Vanuatuan friends living and working with us,” she said from her current farm residence in Gayndah, Queensland.

“Back in Vanuatu most people do farming, so the work is not a problem for us.”

Billy and her husband have been employed on farms around the country, where they have come and gone on a seasonal basis as per the conditions of their Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (Palm) visa.

Her employer, Red Rich Fruits, said they worked hard to retain skilled and experienced workers like the Vanuatuan couple.

The company’s director, Matt Palise, said he had hoped that the new Pacific Engagement Visa, announced in February, would provide further incentive for businesses like them to be an employer of choice for migrant workers. Instead, the 3,000 visas per year are allocated at random via a ballot system.

“Rather than a random lottery, we would like to see an employer-sponsored scheme that helps to reward the workers who are committed to building a life in the country and reduce the likelihood of workers defecting to the city,” Palise said.

“We’ve got a lot of workers who have been with us for years, who are committed to being a part of the Red Rich Fruits family, and we would love to be able to offer them a permanent visa.”

More Security for Workers, Less Control for Industry

According to an agricultural commodities report by the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences, released on Tuesday, the proportion of Palm workers as a percentage of all contract farmer workers jumped from 58% in 2019-20 to 82% in 2021-22, and the growth is expected to continue.

The productivity of seasonal workers is 20% higher than people on working holiday visas, Abares said, and that is also expected to increase because the Palm scheme now allows workers to remain in Australia for up to four years. Returning seasonal workers, it said, are 15% more productive than new seasonal workers.

But the new visa has slightly different aims than the Palm scheme.

A spokesperson for the minister for international development and the Pacific, Pat Conroy, said the new Pacific engagement visa was focussed on growing Australia’s Pacific and Timor-Leste diaspora, enhancing people-to-people links, and encouraging greater cultural, business and educational exchange.

“This is separate and in addition to the existing Pacific Australia Labour Mobility [Palm] scheme, which is the main Pacific migration vehicle to help fill workforce shortages in regional Australia,” they said.

This was echoed by Stephen Howes, an economics professor at Australian National University, who said it was good that the new Pacific engagement visa was not tied to a specific employer.

“I think the agricultural sector is well looked after in terms of dedicated visas, they’ve already got this, they’ve got three dedicated to them,” Howes, who is also the director of the ANU’s Development Policy Centre, said.

Laurie Berg, a law professor at UTS, agreed. Berg specialises in the rights of temporary migrant workers in Australia. She warned that employee-sponsored visas could leave workers even more vulnerable to exploitation.

“I think there are concerns that arise around exploitation, especially where they are dependent on employers for accommodation, which can lead them to feel tied to that employer, and fearful about leaving the job,” Berg said.

Employees are paid on hourly rates and also charged $120 a week for their accomodation and bills.

The farming operations manager, Tim Teague, said the on-site accomodation allowed them to retain expertise and a workforce that genuinely wanted to be there.

Teague manages Billy and her husband on one of the company’s farms in Gayndah.

“They are a pleasure to work with, they always sing and dance,” he said. “They make farming fun.

“And we see it in their work too. After you get through the initial costs of housing them and bringing them in they are far more efficient workers than backpackers.”

Palise said the company had invested heavily in housing and transport for their workers, a process that he said was made more challenging by government regulation. This included strict rules for constructing any new accomodation facilities, and unique specifications for building employee housing.

He said the checklist for providing this support to workers was extensive. “Are there enough houses? Do you have enough vehicles? And then even if you do have a combination? Can you get it approved?”he said.

“This is the major challenge facing us whether it’s the [Pacific] engagement visa scheme, or the Palm scheme.

“The government needs to provide an incentive for businesses to be able to build those houses and facilities to be able to have these workers.”

Howes said employee-sponsored visas needed to have strict regulations to protect employees. “Of course, [Palms] has issues, and it is a highly regulated program, but our studies have shown in general workers are treated well thanks to this,” he said.

Of all litigation filed with the Fair Work Ombudsman in 2021-22, 26% involved the treatment of migrant workers.

Source: The Guardian

#Asia #fruit farmers #visa

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fumpkins · 2 years

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Strawberry prices could rise as farmers reduce crops amid COVID-19 labour shortage

Farmers are slashing the size of strawberry crops or not planting at all out of worry fruit will rot on the ground amid a picker shortage that is anticipated to boost prices at the grocery store.

Key points:

About 7,000 individuals are required to harvest Queensland’s strawberry crop this winter season

COVID-19 travel constraints have actually led to a significant deficiency of offered labour

Farmers are getting in touch with trainees to think about working while studying online

Travel constraints due to COVID-19 have actually indicated an enormous deficiency in farm labour, typically comprised of working holidaymakers or backpackers.

They choose 80 percent of fruit in Australia, Queensland Strawberry Growers Association president Adrian Schulz stated.

In the Moreton Bay, Sunshine Coast and Bundaberg areas alone, 7,000 individuals would be required to collect the strawberry crop this winter season, he stated.

“There are a lot of farmers who are very worried,” he stated.

“I’ve already reduced the number of plants we’re going to grow by 30 to 35 per cent.

“I understand of other farms that have really selected not to grow this year.

“They [strawberries] might be expensive because if we don’t get the people to pick them, the supply is going to be greatly reduced.”

Backpackers and holidaymakers are no longer around to choose strawberries on Queensland farms.(Supplied: LuvaBerry)

Federal Agriculture Minister David Littleproud stated the variety of working visitors in Australia had actually avoided 160,000 to about 40,000 because COVID-19 emerged in 2015.

“Right across this country there has been a shortage,” he stated.

“We’re trying to plan for this season but we’re also trying to plan a strategy for next year and beyond.”

Students used versatility to entice them in

Students and school leavers are being targeted by growers in a task drive to guarantee this year’s crop is selected and not squandered.

Mr Schulz stated trainees, especially those who could research study online, might have the versatility to handle momentary, seasonal work.

“We encourage those [people] to get out and get a job on a strawberry farm and they can study online,” he stated.

“If a student has to go in and do a face-to-face class one day a week, that’s something we can work around.”

Queensland’s strawberry farmers are minimizing crops by approximately 30 percent to manage the lowered labour market.(Supplied: LuvaBerry)

There is likewise chance for those on worldwide trainee visas, with working hour constraints briefly unwinded for those taking a task in farming.

According to the Home Affairs site, the department and Australian Border Force “will take a flexible approach” however just for particular markets.

Chilean trainee Natalie Ayala chose to remain when Australia closed its borders.

“Most of the people from Europe headed back to their country [but] I stayed here because it is really safe,” she stated.

“In South America the situation is worse.”

Ms Ayala invested a couple of weeks dealing with Mr Schulz’s farm.

“For me it is a new experience [and] if you travel the country, you need to open yourself up to new things,” she stated.

Influx of Pacific labour force suppressed by ‘administration’

Queensland’s strawberry growers are requiring immediate action to deal with the traffic jam that has actually stopped countless Pacific Island employees from concerning Australia to deal with farms.

Mr Schulz stated quarantine constraints and caps on worldwide arrivals were slowing the circulation of arrivals.

Farmers say state and federal government administration is triggering hold-ups in getting farm employees.(Supplied: LuvaBerry)

“We understand that everybody wants to be safe and we’ve got to keep them safe,” he stated.

“However we [would be] bringing people in from countries that do not have COVID.”

Mr Littleproud stated 25,000 individuals from throughout the Pacific were waiting to come to Australia, nevertheless state federal governments were hindering their arrivals.

“We can stamp the visas but only after state governments give the public health seal of approval,” he stated.

On-farm quarantine conditions are “onerous”, Mr Schulz states.(Supplied: LuvaBerry)

Mr Schulz wants to see the federal and state federal governments interact and called the quarantine conditions “onerous”.

“They’ve allowed six sites only in Queensland for on-farm quarantine [with] a minimum of 30 people and a maximum of 80 in any particular facility,” he stated.

“That’s great for the big farms but not good for the small and medium farms.”

Mr Schulz stated while in quarantine, individuals need to work however be separated from others with other conditions in location.

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“You have to embed your own supervisors with these people for that 14-day period and you need to get the Queensland police on site,” he stated.

“It’s very onerous for small to medium farms to manage that sort of bureaucracy.”

Queensland Agriculture Minister Mark Furner stated the federal government had actually brought more than 930 employees onto the state’s farms under the federal government’s Pacific Labour Scheme and Seasonal Worker Program, with hundreds more due soon.

“This is a federal government program, and processing times for workers can vary significantly because of issues affecting processing in their home countries,” he stated.

“The state government understands the urgency of getting more workers on farms.”

New post published on: https://livescience.tech/2021/11/14/strawberry-prices-could-rise-as-farmers-reduce-crops-amid-covid-19-labour-shortage/

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entegrasignaturestructures · 2 years

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The Labour Shortage Issue is one of the major concerns for Australian farms, especially in the horticultural sector. Due to the global pandemic (Covid 19) the Australian border closers resulted in a 12% fall in the horticulture labor force. Read this article to know more!

#Australian farms #labour shortage on Australian farms #labour shortage #horticultural sector #Australian farmers #Australian dairy farmers #farming sector #Fram Shed #dairy shed

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bbcbreakingnews · 3 years

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New visa will allow south-east Asians to pick fruit in Australia

More than 10,000 south-east Asians will be lured to Australia to pick fruit and vegetables under a new visa to help tackle a crippling labor shortage.

The agriculture visa, which is due to be in place before the end of the year, was announced on Tuesday night after Scott Morrison and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson signed a historic UK-Australia free trade deal.

The deal exempts British backpackers from having to work for three months on a farm to qualify for a second year in Australia, meaning farmers will lose about 10,000 workers a year.

More than 10,000 south-east Asians from 10 nations (pictured) will be lured to Australia to pick fruit and vegetables

The new visa, available to the UK and 10 nations from the ASEAN group – Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam – is designed to more than make up the shortfall.

The visa will allow people to work on Australian farms for three years, although they must return home for three months each year so their nations also benefit as they spend money in the local economy.

It comes as Covid border closures have left farmers desperate for workers with only 40,000 backpackers left in the country, down from 160,000 in normal times.

A scheme to pay Australians $6,000 to relocate to the bush failed as Aussies turned their noses up at the long hours and gruelling work.

‘Unfortunately Australians can’t be incentivised to go and have a crack at these jobs. We’ve got to be honest about that,’ Agriculture Minister David Littleproud told ABC radio on Wednesday.

Covid border closures have left farmers desperate for workers with only 40,000 backpackers left in the country, down from 160,000 in normal times

Mr Littleproud said the foreign workers could be let into the country via state-run quarantine camps or alternatively do two weeks of quarantine in their home nations before flying, if states agreed.

Unions have raised fears that poor workers with little English could be exploited by farmers after a union survey of 1300 seasonal workers found 78 per cent were underpaid with some earning as little as $9 a day.

But Mr Littleproud insists bad apples among employers are a minority with conditions almost always up to award standards.

‘Anyone that doesn’t [pay properly], needs to be found out and weeded out – they’re a cancer,’ he said.

‘It’s dangerous where you’ve got unions running around and demonising farmers broadly when that’s not the case.’

Australian Workers Union secretary Daniel Walton described the move as shameless, stupid and immoral.

‘Scott Morrison and Boris Johnson have decided it’s wrong for Brits to be exposed to exploitation and abuse on Australian farms, but apparently it’s OK for Southeast Asians,’ he said.

He said the minister’s claims Australians were not motivated to do the jobs were ‘absolute garbage’.

‘They can be incentivised to do those jobs with decent pay and conditions that protect them from abuse,’ Mr Walton said.

British people under the age of 35 will be able to work in Australia for three years without having to complete farm work

‘If the government goes ahead with this abhorrent proposal exploitation and abuse on Australian farms will explode.’

Mr Morrison backed an agriculture visa in 2018 but later said the expansion of existing migration programs meant there was no longer a need for a dedicated category.

‘That is something I’ve had a positive view on for some time,’ Mr Morrison told reporters in London.

Victorian Farmers Federation vice-president Emma Germano, who has long pushed for the visa, said it was needed for horticulture, as well as other skilled and unskilled jobs in other sectors.

‘From milkers, livestock farm hands, pickers, packers, machinery drivers; everyone is having trouble finding labour,’ she said.

‘Right now we need smart policy solutions for a wicked human capital problem and I hope this decision opens the door to a resolution.’

What’s in the historic free trade deal between Australia and the UK?

– Brits can get three-year Working Holiday Visas up until age of 35

– Rule mandating farm work will be scrapped

– Aussies can also work in the UK for three years

– Deal could boost Australian economy by $1.3billion each year

– Gives businesses more opportunities to sell abroad after China imposed tariffs

– UK agreed to eventually eliminate agriculture tariffs in win for Aussie farmers

– This will allow Aussie beef, lamb, cheese and sugar to enter the UK tariff-free

– But there are fears the changes will see a loss of 10,000 farm workers in Australia annually

– Australia will also scrap tariffs on British goods including whiskey

– Tariffs on British cars, machinery, tractors and pharmaceuticals will also be scrapped

source https://bbcbreakingnews.com/new-visa-will-allow-south-east-asians-to-pick-fruit-in-australia/

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sweetlifetownsville · 5 years

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Federal Budget contains drought support, trade assistance and disaster relief for farmers

Billions of dollars will be allocated to natural disaster response as part of the 2019-20 Budget, and farmers can expect a boost to drought support and foreign market access but there will be no agriculture visa if the Coalition is returned to Government. Budget key points - regional Key points:Government commits $3.9 billion to Emergency Response FundFarm Household Allowance eligibility to be extended$30 million to boost trade access to foreign markets Treasurer Josh Frydenberg used his pre-election Budget to announce a $3.9 billion Emergency Response Fund. Mr Frydenberg said the fund would "ensure additional resourcing is available to support future natural disaster recovery efforts". The Coalition expects to establish the fund in October by rebadging the dormant, Rudd-era, Education Investment Fund. New legislation is required to determine how and when the funds can be accessed. Farm spending The 201920 Budget has also committed $29.4 million over four years to enhance Australia's agricultural exports. The package includes money to increase market access, improve access to plant genetics for the horticulture sector and more than $11 million to minimise the impact of non-tariff trade barriers. What Budget 2019 means for you: What Budget 2019 means for you: The Government has also expanded access to an instant asset write-off, increasing the limit from $25,000 to $35,000. It means any business with an annual turnover of up to $50 million will be eligible. Farm labour Despite senior Nationals ministers giving their support for an agriculture-specific visa last year, there was no funding for it in this year's Budget. Farmers have long argued Australian produce is going unharvested due to a lack of on-farm workers, and some say it has led to an increase of illegal farm workers. However, the Government announced a 12-month pilot that it said would address seasonal worker shortages in three selected regions, known for farm worker shortages. It also committed $24 million to incentivise Australians to take up seasonal work opportunities, by expanding the existing Harvest Labour Service and committed $1.9 million, over four years, to develop a National Agriculture Workforce Strategy. It follows recent announcements about changes to expand regional skilled and backpacker visas.

The Budget includes a range of measures to help recruit seasonal farm labour. (ABC News: Carla Howarth)

The Budget includes a range of measures to help recruit seasonal farm labour. ABC News: Carla Howarth Drought support The National Farmers' Federation call for a comprehensive national drought policy has been ignored in this year's Budget. However, the Government has committed more than $3 million to increase access to the Farm Household Allowance. The changes mean, from July 1, farmers who put the income from the forced sale of livestock into a Farm Management Deposit, will have the proceeds exempt from an income means test to access the assistance. Currently there are fewer than 6,300, of more than 85,000 Australian farming families, who access the fortnightly Farm Household Allowance payments. The 2019-20 budget also includes a $5 million grant for the Country Women's Association to help farmers and families that experience hardship due to drought, and $4.2 million to maintain a National Drought Map. The Bureau of Meteorology will benefit from $28 million over four years to install new radars and rain gauges in Queensland. Earlier this year, the Government legislated a $3.9 billion Future Drought Fund, funded off-budget, to set aside $100 million a year for drought-preparedness. Labor has also committed to spend $100 million a year on drought, if elected. Biodiversity One of the largest agriculture-specific spends of 2019-20 budget is a $30 million pilot program to recognise and incentivise biodiversity on farms. Rural Newsletter Rural news in your inbox? Subscribe for the national headlines of the day. A methodology is yet to be determined. The Government has also committed $4 million to a biodiversity certificate scheme, which would seek to establish a market for biodiversity credits. The commitment has generally been welcomed by farmers and has in-principle support from the Opposition. Dairy code This year's Budget, for the first time, outlines spending for the already-announced mandatory dairy industry code of conduct. The Government will spend $8.7 million over 11 years on the code, which is designed to address an imbalance of power between farmers and processors. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is expected to enforce the code, which is currently being established with input from the industry, and will come into effect on July 1, 2020. Biosecurity A contentious new Biosecurity Imports Levy, initially expected to be charged on shipping containers, has been delayed by three months. The levy, announced in last year's budget, was expected to commence on July 1, but this year's Budget shows the start date has been extended until September. The delay, which the Government will use to consult further on the design of the levy, is expected to cut revenue by $20 million. An increase in biosecurity funding had strong support from farmers, but transport, logistics and shipping companies have called for the levy to be axed. http://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2019-04-02/drought-trade-disaster-priorities-for-farmers-in-20169-budget/10958900?source=rss

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goldcoastdreams · 5 years

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Federal Budget contains drought support, trade assistance and disaster relief for farmers

The Budget includes a range of measures to help recruit seasonal farm labour. (ABC News: Carla Howarth)

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fumpkins · 3 years

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Labor picks fight with farm piece rates in a move critics say could drive producers to the wall

The federal opposition says farm workers need to be guaranteed a minimum wage if they are paid according to how much produce they pick.

Key points:

Workers paid according to how much fruit they pick are being exploited, say unions

The opposition says workers must be guaranteed a minimum wage

The National Farmers’ Federation says piece rates drive worker productivity

Labor has thrown its support behind a union campaign to amend the horticulture workers award in a move farmers claim could drive them out of business.

Speaking in Sydney today, Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese said fruit pickers must be assured of earning the minimum wage of $19.84 per hour.

“What we’re saying is there should be a minimum rate,” he said.

“There’s got to be a minimum rate. You can’t have no bottom.”

Under the award, the piece rate allows workers to be paid according to the amount of fruit they harvest, and must offer the average worker up to 15 per cent more per hour than the minimum wage.

Mr Albanese said it had led to workers being underpaid and exploited.

Unions call for minimum pay guarantee

The Australian Workers’ Union has lodged a submission to the Fair Work Commission seeking to amend the award to ensure a minimum payment for those paid piece rates.

Farmers claim to rely on the piece rate system to boost productivity among workers, but unions say it has led to exploitation of vulnerable workers.

A new study by Unions NSW, released today, claims farm workers are earning as little as $1.25 an hour, despite a widespread labour shortage exacerbated by COVID-19 travel restrictions.

Download the ABC News app for all the latest.

Based on interviews with 100 workers and an audit of 1,000 job advertisements offering farm work, the report said “96 per cent of piece rates advertised would not allow workers to earn the national minimum wage, and in several instances workers would earn less than $1 an hour”.

“No worker receives above the minimum wage if they are on piece rates; in fact, piece rates provide wages as low as $2 to $5 an hour for workers,” Unions NSW secretary Mark Morey said.

“It is hard work. It is back-breaking work. There is no upside to this, we need to scrap piece rates and we need to have a system where there’s a minimum rate of pay for the worker.”

A new union study says some farm workers are earning as little as $1.25 an hour. (

ABC

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The study, entitled Wage Theft: Shadow Market, reported hourly rates fell to as low as $1.25 for blueberries, $4.10 for peaches, $4.89 for strawberries and $4.90 for grapes.

One backpacker’s story

For Taiwanese backpacker Johnson, working on a Queensland strawberry farm last for a piece rate was “a disaster”.

“I remember the first day, I worked for six hours and I only get $38 — six hours for $38 and I still have to pay my rent; it’s pretty much a disaster for me,” he told the ABC.

“It should be $100 at least, I think, but they didn’t pay me for hourly job, it was how many kilos I pick and then they pay me like 60 cents per kilo, maybe lower.

“I’ve never worked on a farm before so I don’t know if this price is normal so I just do it.”

Get the latest rural news

Johnson, who declined to give his surname out of concern for his job prospects, has left Queensland and now works in Tasmania, where he says he is earning much better wages with a different contractor.

He says there are times when earning the piece rate has worked in his favour.

“It depends, on the condition of the fruit … if there’s a lot of fruit I don’t want to work an hourly job, but if the season just get started or is about to end, then I prefer to work in an hourly job.”

‘Losing piece rates will close farms’

The National Farmers’ Federation [NFF] said any cases of exploitation or underpayment should be reported to the Fair Work Ombudsman.

Ben Rogers, the NFF’s general manager of workplace relations and legal affairs, said farmers were reliant on piece rates to drive productivity and without them some farmers would be forced to close.

“You’ll just be driving a whole bunch of growers and small growers out of business and out of the economy,” he said.

“The reality is that piece rates don’t lead to exploitation.

“Those rogue operators are going to exploit people and they’ll find other ways to do that, but attacking piece rates and denying the sector a key productivity tool is just not the way to go about solving that issue.”

The matter is expected to come before the Fair Work Commission in July.

New post published on: https://livescience.tech/2021/06/20/labor-picks-fight-with-farm-piece-rates-in-a-move-critics-say-could-drive-producers-to-the-wall/

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entegrasignaturestructures · 2 years

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Labour Shortage on Australian Farms - Entegra Signature Structures

Check out this image and visit the article to find out more about the labour shortage on Australian farms, why it is happening in Australia, and what the Australian government has introduced to encourage young people. Click here to know more:

#Australianfarms #labourshortageonAustralianfarms #horticulturalsector

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bestmigrationservices · 5 years

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English, skill requirements relaxed for Australian permanent residency in these regions

The Federal Government is making concessions in skill, income and English language requirements for work visas in regional areas where employers cannot find local workers with relevant skills to fill vacancies. The new agreements also provide migrant workers with a pathway to permanent residency in Australia. The Federal Government of Australia has opened doors to semi-skilled migrants, in order to fill skill gaps in some regional areas, where they will have a pathway to permanent residence in Australia that was unavailable before. The Commonwealth Government has signed a five-year special visa agreement with Victoria’s Great South Coast Region and Northern Territory that will give businesses in these regions access to broad range of occupations that weren’t available through Australia’s standard migration program. The move serves as a respite for those affected by the changes to Australia’s immigration program that tightened the requirements for sponsored visas and pruning of the skilled occupation list that made permanent residency difficult for many migrant workers. The Designated Area Migration Agreements that will lower the skills, language and income requirements and let the semi-skilled migrant workers access a pathway to permanent migration come in the wake of a vociferous demand for a standalone agriculture visa to meet a growing demand for farm workers. To deal with labour shortage, Australia may soon start a new visa While the exact details of the visa are not known, Federal Agriculture Minister David Littleproud has said delivering a special agriculture visa for the current picking season is his key priority. Immigration Minister David Coleman said the agreements will support the skills needs of regional Australia where Australian workers are not available to fill those jobs. “The Government is working to improve our immigration program to better match the needs of specific locations,” Mr Coleman said. “In particular, we are looking closely at ways of filling employment gaps in regional areas. The Great South Coast region has been calling out for workers for some time.”

A five-year Designated Area Migration Agreement was already in place with the Northern Territory but that didn’t provide the workers with a pathway to permanent residency. The territory has now signed a new agreement last week after the existing agreement expired at the end of 2018. NT’s Minister for Workforce Training, Selena Uibo said the new agreement will help the Territory’s economy. “More people means more jobs and a stronger economy, which means better schools, better hospitals and more police,” Ms Uibo said. “Employers struggling to fill any of the 117 skilled and semi-skilled occupations identified as being in shortage will need to demonstrate they are unable to employ a suitably skilled and experienced Australian to fill a position, before applying to sponsor an overseas worker,” she said. The new visa doesn’t require any massive financial outlays and the English language requirement has been set low at 5 bands in each of the four components of IELTS. But applicants need to have an innovative business idea in order to secure a visa. Manuela Seiberth, a migration agent in Darwin says she is “very excited” at the announcement of the new agreement. “It’s a very good tool for the employers here to sponsor workers from overseas and retain them. Otherwise, they would have backpackers working for them during the dry season and then they leave,” Ms Seiberth told SBS Punjabi.

NT already had concessions in English language, skills and income requirements under the previous DAMA. But Ms Seiberth says she expects the pathway to permanent residency to be the biggest draw for foreign workers that the new agreement provides. The Federal Government has previously flagged a five-year mandatory stay in regional areas for migrant workers seeking to become permanent residents. But the Department of Home Affairs says the terms of these agreements, including the mandatory minimum period of stay would be negotiated and tailored to the specific needs of particular regions. "Those workers who are eligible for permanent residence under a DAMA will need to have been working in the region on a temporary visa for an agreed period before they can apply for a permanent residence visa. This could be a period of up to four years depending on the agreement," a Department spokesperson told SBS Punjabi. "Permanent residence is not automatically granted, each person will have to make a valid application and meet the required criteria for a grant of a permanent residence visa," the spokesperson added. The NT Government has confirmed to SBS Punjabi that the DAMA visa holders will be required to have worked three out of four years in the Northern Territory in order for business owners to apply to sponsor them for permanent residency. Ms Seiberth says keeping that time at three years makes sense. “I’m hearing it’s 3 years. It’s three years under the 482 visa and people can apply for permanent residency once they have spent that period. So, it makes sense to keep it at that and not make it longer under the DAMA,” she says. The legislation that the visa was tied to has been passed by the Federal Parliament, paving the way for the new visa. However, the opposition and migrant groups are unhappy that the Government’s visa is significantly different from what was initially promised. Dan Tehan, the local Liberal MP from Victoria's Great South Coast said the minimum period of stay before migrant workers will be able to avail of the permanent residency pathway would be three to four years for the region. "What would do is they would come in, fulfil the requirement — which would be three to four years working in the particular skilled-shortage area — then they would get on the pathway to permanent residency — not in all instances, but in some instances," Mr Tehan told the ABC. "Obviously there are criteria that they have to meet: anything with regards to breaking the law, etcetera, would obviously, could be prejudicial to them getting onto a permanent residency pathway," he said.

The currently available sponsored work visas are subject to a minimum income threshold of $53,900 per annum. However, under the DAMA, employers are able to apply for concessions in this. Similarly, concessions are also made for English language requirements for migrant workers, depending on the country they come from, while all of them from non-English speaking countries are required to take an English test. The Commonwealth government also discussing such agreements with other regions, including the Pilbara and the Kalgoorlie-Boulder regions in WA, Cairns in far North Queensland, and the Orana region in central NSW. For these agreements to be approved, regions of Australia must demonstrate efforts to recruit the locals first and clearly identify labour market conditions and gaps. They must also demonstrate local support available to migrant workers. Read the full article

#Australia #AustralianMigration #AustralianVisa #BestMigrationServices #bestmigrationservices #BMS #bmsmigration #Business #immigration #ImmigrationAgent #ImmigrationLawyer #immigrationbyinvestment #immigrationguide #immigrationlawyer #immigrationtoaustralia #migratetoaustralia #Migration #movingtoaustralia #Visa

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