On Tuesday the union began its push to ensure horticulture workers take home minimum casual pay of $25.41 an hour.
Currently, farms are not required to pay the minimum award rate.
Instead, many workers are remunerated based on the amount of fruit picked or vegetables harvested. The union said it was happy with farm owners being able to keep piecework arrangements, but wanted the award rate set as a minimum floor price.
“There is no reason we should accept that fruit and vegetable picking exists in an industrial no-man's land outside Australia's norms and standards,” national secretary Daniel Walton said.
The National Farmers’ Federation said piece-work rates incentivised and awarded productivity.
Chief executive Tony Mahar said the NFF was also concerned introducing a minimum floor price would further shrink the pool of suitable workers.
“Rather than offering a set, hourly rate, piecework rates allow workers to earn at a rate that directly corresponds to how much they pick or pack in a given workday,” Mr Mahar said. “For example, a worker on an hourly rate might earn less than $25 per hour over seven hours and pick five to six bins of apples. Over the same period, a worker on piece rates might earn $45 per bin, effectively doubling their earnings.“The risk of putting a minimum hourly wage floor price on piece-work rates is that growers will see productivity and the pool of suitable workers drop in the midst of an already chronic labour shortage brought about by COVID border closures. “Employment is the number one expense for many growers, at as much as 66 per cent of their operating costs, and any significant increase to that could see businesses fail.”
The AWU said some fruit pickers received "piece rates" equivalent to just $3 an hour.
Mr Maher said if the claim was accurate it was "clearly an instance of underpayment and completely unrelated to the operation of piece-work rates" and that "employers who deliberately ripped off workers must be held to account".
“The NFF urges any farm worker who believes they have been deliberately underpaid to report their experience to the Fair Work Ombudsman,” he said.“By contrast, piece-work rates are a legal payment mechanism, that already have a built-in protection mechanism, that guarantees workers earn 15 per cent more than the award wage.”
The hearing runs until Friday.
Read more in next week’s Country News.
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