Farmers criticise report into migrant workers

FARMERS have criticised a TV report suggesting the industry was rife with the exploitation of migrant workers subjected to slave-like conditions.

Overseas Workers

AUSTRALIAN farmers have criticised an ABC report suggesting the industry was rife with exploitation of migrant workers subjected to slave-like conditions.

On Monday, the ABC’s Four Corners program, ‘Slaving Away: The Dirty ­Secrets behind Australia’s Fresh Food’, detailed shocking stories of exploitation of foreigners employed on 417 working holiday visas.

The program revealed some workers were being paid wages as low as $3.95 an hour, forced to work 22-hour shifts, and even asked to perform sexual favours in return for extending their visa or improved working conditions.

According to the report, unscrupulous labour hire contractors prey upon vulnerable young foreigners, many with limited English, who end up working on farms and factories around the country, with product ultimately ending up on supermarket shelves.

Writing in The Australian today, NSW farmer Paul Shoker accused the ABC of kicking farmers in the guts with a story designed to “play well to metro audiences and inner-city elites”.

“In recent years the farm sector has become a favourite punching bag for the media, and in particular the ABC’s flagship investigative program, Four Corners,” Mr Shoker wrote. “More often than not, farmers are seen as environmental vandals, barbaric killers of animals and exploiters of foreign workers.”

Mr Shoker said while relevant authorities should act immediately and prosecute the offending parties, “nonetheless the story was deliberately inflammatory and misleading”.

“It attempted to tar the entire industry by citing a few rotten apples. I watched in horror as baseless claims about the whole industry were made,” he said.

“During the show one union official made the claim: ‘Almost every fresh product that you pick up ... will have passed through the hands of workers who have been fundamentally exploited.’ What is the basis of this claim? What facts suggest this to be true? None were presented.”

He also expressed dismay that neither industry bodies such as the National Farmers’ Federation nor the suppliers themselves were contacted for comment during the 45-minute feature, while union officials were given prominence.

On Tuesday, the National Farmers’ Federation condemned the examples of exploitation shown in the program, saying it was working closely with government and other stakeholders to lift compliance in the sector.

Speaking to news.com.au today, National Farmers’ Federation workplace relations manager Sarah McKinnon said she “surprised and disappointed” the organisation hadn’t been contacted prior to the story going to air.

“We asked all of our members if they had been contacted for comment and they all said no,” she said. “Unions were contacted, government was contacted, but industry wasn’t. That tells you there’s another agenda.”

Ms McKinnon accused the National Union of Workers, which featured prominently in the program, of using the issue as a platform to drive membership.

“The National Union of Workers has an interest in the horticulture sector. Surprisingly, the union [responsible] for the sector is the Australian Workers’ Union, but they weren’t contacted.”

The NUW is traditionally responsible for the distribution and wholesale area, while the farmers and their contractors fall under the remit of the AWU.

“We think they want to increase their membership in the horticulture industry, and putting out a story like this which puts a spotlight on the sector and the need for worker protection is a good way for them to promote the cause.”

Ms McKinnon added that the allegation made by NUW official George Robertson that almost every fresh product in the supermarket “will have passed through the hands of workers who have been fundamentally exploited” was “unfair and untrue”. “It’s unsustainable as a comment,” she said.

She added that the undercover footage of the Baiada chicken factory outside Adelaide was “no surprise”. “That’s a long and bitter dispute between Baiada and the NUW, so seeing undercover footage there was no surprise. But it is new to see it in the horticulture sector,” she said.

“We would have liked to be consulted. We don’t like the idea that there’s this undercover campaign going on against farmers around the country.”

In response, NUW national secretary Tim Kennedy said unless the union was able to put together an agreement with the major supermarkets to set and enforce minimum conditions in a transparent way, “then consumers cannot be confident that our fresh food is not tainted with exploitation”.

“The NUW has a clear agenda. We want to end the exploitation of workers that we saw on Monday night’s Four Corners,” Mr Kennedy said.

“We will work with anyone, including the many farmers who have contacted us, to ensure every worker in the supermarket supply chain is treated with respect and dignity.

“From the hundreds of phone calls the union has had since Monday, it is clear that the general public who buy food at Coles and Woolworths want to support Australian farmers, but people want to know they are not supporting continued worker exploitation.”

Yesterday, the Fair Work Ombudsman issued a statement, saying the issues canvassed by the Four Corners program were “well known to the FWO and we have been proactive in bringing these issues into the public arena”.

“We agree there is a problem with the treatment of visa-holders by labour-hire contractors operating in the horticulture and poultry processing sectors, in particular,” it said.

“In the past few years, the Fair Work Ombudsman has dealt with over 6000 requests for assistance from visa-holders and recovered more than $4 million in outstanding wages and entitlements for them.”

In a statement to news.com.au, the ABC said: “The Four Corners program ‘Slaving Away: The Dirty Secrets behind Australia’s Fresh Food’ highlighted a serious issue regarding the exploitation of workers on 417 visas, including those who work in the meat and horticultural industries.

“This is clearly an important topic that deserves to be explored. The program was based on extensive research and interviews, including five interviews representing the farming industry and two representing unions. Four Corners has no agenda except to report for our audience on issues that are in the public interest.”

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