Ensuring high standards key to success of Seasonal Agriculture Worker visa miragenews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from miragenews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Date Time
Fair Work Commission Concludes AWU Farm Workers Case
The Fair Work Commission has concluded hearing evidence in the Horticulture Award variation case brought by the AWU.
The case is an attempt by the AWU to end widespread worker exploitation and wage theft in the fruit and vegetable picking industry through the abuse of piece-rate payments.
The FWC has now heard from an array of witnesses who have highlighted the need for a minimum-wage safety net to end the current piece-rates system, which is open to abuse and has often seen workers do backbreaking work only to be paid as low as a few dollars an hour.
Date Time
Fair Work Hears AWU’s Farmers Fair Work Claim
The case, which began on Tuesday, is an attempt by the AWU to end widespread worker exploitation and wage theft in the fruit and vegetable picking industry through the abuse of piece-rate payments.
The FWC has now heard from an array of witnesses who have highlighted the need for a minimum-wage safety net to end the current piece-rates system, which is open to abuse and has often seen workers do backbreaking work only to be paid as low as a few dollars an hour.
On Thursday the AWU’s expert witness, Dr Elsa Underhill from Deakin University, gave detailed evidence of widespread systemic wage theft and worker exploitation in the industry.
I was desperate : the fight to get Australia s fruit pickers a fair wage | Australian trade unions theguardian.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from theguardian.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Date Time
Industry calls on Government to implement Agriculture Visa Trial
The horticulture sector is calling for a trial of the newly announced Seasonal Agriculture Worker visa to commence before year end. The Australian Fresh Produce Alliance (AFPA) has previously welcomed the announcement of a dedicated Seasonal Agriculture Worker visa, which will reduce industry’s reliance on working holiday makers and allow the industry to better develop a productive, returning harvest workforce. “As some of the largest employers in the sector, AFPA members have been developing a 10-year outlook on their workforce requirements. A long term outlook reduces the reliance on backpackers and focuses on better pathways for employing Australian’s, workers from the Pacific and new Seasonal Agriculture Worker visa holders” said AFPA CEO, Michael RogersThe AFPA are calling on the government to implement a trial of the Seasonal Agriculture Worker visa and focus on a group of registered employers