Fruit and veg pickers’ minimum wage arrives this month and then we’ll see the true cost of food

Farmers say supermarkets must pay sustainable prices for fresh fruit and vegetables and ensure it is produced by reputable growers as major changes are made to the way Australia’s fruit pickers are paid.

From April 28, changes to the Horticulture Award mean that farm workers typically paid according to how much produce they pick or pack must be guaranteed a minimum hourly rate.

For casuals that’s $25.41 per hour.

Workers can still be paid the piece rate, according to their productivity.

The average competent worker must be allowed to earn 15 per cent above the minimum, almost $30 per hour.

The changes were announced by the Fair Work Commission following a successful appeal led by the Australian Workers’ Union (AWU).

AWU National secretary Daniel Walton said the changes would create a safety net for workers.

“Now that’s going to make them more productive, that’s a better outcome for the farmer, and it’s a good outcome for our members.”

When the Fair Work Commission decided the piece rate system was not working, Australia’s Agriculture Minister David Littleproud suggested any changes could drive up the price of fresh fruit and vegetables.

New rules, new cost of production

Some farmers, like Emma Germano, already pay their workers an hourly rate. 

But the Victorian Farmers Federation president said the changes to the Horticulture Award would increase the cost of producing fresh fruit and vegetables and have an impact sector-wide.

“Labor costs are the highest part of the production cost and can usually be up to 60 per cent of the gross farm receipts on farm,” Ms Germano said.

Some farmers fear the changes could further compound a national worker shortage, estimated by industry to be in the thousands.

“Previously there was really no impost to on-farm management to make sure that the workers who were less productive were productive, because they were being paid proportionately to their efficiency and their productivity,” Ms Germano said.

The piece rate is commonly paid for workers in crops that cannot be mechanically harvested, including citrus, cherries, apples, and berries.

New rules must be enforced, farmers say

The Australian Fresh Produce Alliance’s members account for more than half of the horticulture industry’s turnover.

Its chief executive Michael Rogers said there must be better policing of the way workers were paid.

“We have a very strong position that anyone who does not pay people properly and treat workers fairly needs to leave the industry,” Mr Rogers said.

“It’s just simply unacceptable and it undermines growers doing the right thing.

Mr Rogers said changes to the Horticulture Award would cause some businesses to restructure.

“The implications for the decision are far reaching for those employers who haven’t been paying well,” he said.

“For those employers who have been paying well, the decision probably goes further than was considered by anyone — in the sense that if the 15 per cent loading on the casual rate is compounded it pushes the average hourly rate to $30 per hour, which in anyone’s language is a lot of money for picking fruit.”