Coronavirus workforce plan: Unemployed urged to work in agriculture

Up to $50 million has been made available to retrain and support workers willing to take up agricultural work on farm or in food processing plants.

Pick a job: Displaced locals are being urged to take up farm work, such as fruit picking traditionally done by overseas backpackers. Picture: Luis Enrique Ascui

VICTORIAN workers forced out of jobs by the Andrews Government’s coronavirus shutdowns are being asked to register for rural work as part of a $50 million Agriculture Workforce Plan.

The scheme is part of the Government's previously announced $500m Working for Victoria Fund, which offers displaced workers training, subsidies and accommodation for those willing to move to regional Victoria for work.

“We can make sure that our amazing farmers have the workforce they need to keep producing for Victoria and for rookie agriculture workers, a new world opens up,” Victorian Agriculture Minister Jaclyn Symes said. “It’s a win all round.”

Agriculture Victoria and Regional Development Victoria are working together to match displaced workers to vital industries such as horticulture, dairy, meat and food production and manufacturing, as well as transport and logistics services.

The Government aims to match workers to roles within their regions and towns, while also encouraging others to relocate if needed, but with what it termed “the highest health and hygiene protections, and social distancing controls”.

The focus of the Agriculture plan is to recruit workers into some farm work, such as fruit harvesting, bushfire recovery and food manufacturing.

As part of the broader $500m scheme anyone registering to participate is being asked: “Would you be willing to work in regional Victoria (with accommodation and transport supports, subsidies and allowances if required)?

Apart for agricultural jobs the government is also asking workers if they would be willing to work in:

CLEANING and sanitation of buildings, public spaces and transport

FOOD services and catering

HEALTH care and carer/community support roles

OUTREACH for people who are isolated or who need supplies delivered to their homes

MANUFACTURING roles

LOGISTICS including warehousing, security services and driving roles

CUSTOMER service and call centre roles

WASTE management

ENVIRONMENTAL management

MADEC Harvest manager Gavin Krake told The Weekly Times there was already a lot of interest from displaced Australians looking for work in agriculture.

While traditionally farmers had preferred overseas harvest labour, Mr Krake said he was seeing employers starting to take a greater interest in recruiting locals.

Opposition Agriculture spokesman Peter Walsh said the announcement of an Agriculture Workforce Plan left questions unanswered about what steps the Andrews Government was taking to protect the integrity of our food supply chain.

Mr Walsh said strict measures must be put in place to ensure farmers and farm businesses were not exposed to unnecessary, lengthy shutdowns.

“Our food supply chain businesses are prepared to do their part to comply with restrictions, but we can’t afford to have them in constant 14 day lockdown,” Mr Walsh said.

“The Victorian Government must act on calls for priority access to testing for the agriculture workforce, similar to the provisions made for health workers.

“Farms and farm businesses must be able to quickly, and safely, resume operations as we continue to fight the spread of COVID-19.”

At this stage some protocols have been developed for food processing lines, but thousands of other rural workplaces have been left in the dark on what would happen if a worker tested positive to COVID-19.