Time for undocumented farm workers to come out of the shadows

Agriculture’s workforce issues can’t be dealt with until one very uncomfortable truth is dealt with, writes Natalie Kotsios.

Illegal workers have been caught up in raids, but pleas for an amnesty remain unheeded. Picture: David Crosling

IN OCTOBER 2017, Victorian farmers made an unprecedented call.

Splashed across The Weekly Times front page, a single word dominated: ‘AMNESTY’.

The headline, and accompanying story — the Victorian Farmers Federation’s first call that undocumented farm workers be given a chance to come forward and gain a legitimate visa, without fear of deportation — demanded attention, forcing industry to acknowledge one of agriculture’s most uncomfortable truths.

Stories of worker exploitation had long been rife, particularly in horticulture; horrific tales emerged on a regular basis in the media of foreign workers underpaid, living in inhospitable conditions, or being intimidated by unscrupulous employers.

But this was the first time industry itself had conceded so directly it had a problem with illegal labour, a subject that many seemed to prefer to stay in the shadows despite it being so intrinsic to all the labour issues the sector faces.

The data is hard to come by but estimates put the number of undocumented workers in Australia between 60,000 and 100,000, and many are believed to be working on farms. Research by University of Adelaide’s Dr Joanna Howe, one of the leaders in this field and who also backs an amnesty, indicates these workers make up to 90 per cent of the workforce in some regions.

The idea has been raised several times since 2017: in December that year, a bipartisan parliamentary inquiry into modern slavery also recommended an amnesty; in 2018, after a VFF survey found about 28 per cent of the Sunraysia workforce was undocumented and not a single grower could safely say they were compliant; and last year, state agriculture ministers – again, led by Victoria – suggested it as a solution to the current workforce shortages.

Now this month, the Government’s own National Agriculture Workforce Advisory Committee recommended the one-off “regularisation” of undocumented farm workers, citing research co-authored by Dr Howe that having up to 100,000 avoiding healthcare during a pandemic presented a massive public health risk. Meanwhile, a group of Nationals MPs are formulating their own plan for status resolution they are taking to the party room.

Each time (excluding the latest recommendation, which the Government has yet to respond to) the Federal Government dismissed the idea, citing other compliance work it was already undertaking, national security concerns, or that it would set a poor precedent.

These are all excuses for inaction, particularly the catch-all of national security. These are primarily people who have overstayed their visas or without working rights; in many cases, we know they have been here for years without incident, establishing roots in the community.

You can argue these people shouldn’t be here in the first place, that they’ve done the wrong thing. Well, so too has anyone who has ever hired them – we lose that argument by ever perpetuating that vicious cycle and given the power imbalance between employer and employee in these situations, it is for us to rectify.

We do of course know better than most that the vast majority of farmers play by the rules and look after their staff; in fact, those farmers are increasingly calling out the minority, sick of being tarred with the same brush and knowing even one case of worker exploitation is too many.

Everyone from industry to government to consumers wants the farm sector cleaned up and for worker exploitation to stop; there’s agreement we should be using legitimate programs such as the Pacific Island labour schemes.

But in the four years of covering this debate, not a single person opposed to an amnesty has been able to give me a satisfactory answer to the question: what happens to the 100,000 undocumented people already here?

The people already living and working on farms, some perhaps looked after, others definitely not? The thousands who have built some semblance of a life here?

Do we just go on ignoring them? That it’s okay for them to stay hidden as long they’re picking our fruit and vegetables and keeping prices cheap?

This is not just about worker exploitation, labour shortages or public health anymore – it’s also about doing the right thing by our fellow human beings.

If we are serious fixing any of the above issues, it is impossible without bringing undocumented workers out of the shadows.

• Natalie Kotsios is The Weekly Times national affairs reporter