tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/fruit-picking-32382/articlesfruit picking – The Conversation2021-11-05T05:21:53Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1712912021-11-05T05:21:53Z2021-11-05T05:21:53ZLoophole closed: the minimum wage for farm workers is long overdue<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430438/original/file-20211105-15-frqbze.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6000%2C3000&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Fair Work Commission’s ruling that Australian farm workers paid piece rates to pick fruit and vegetables must now get a base wage of $25.41 an hour is long overdue and absolutely necessary.</p>
<p>In theory, anyone working in Australia should be paid a minimum wage. But piecework payments, by which workers are paid solely on what they produce with no guarantee of a minimum rate, have lingered on as a common practice in the agricultural sector. </p>
<p>As the commission’s <a href="https://www.fwc.gov.au/documents/documents/awardmod/variations/2020/am2020104-2021fwcfb5554summary-fwc-031121.pdf">ruling notes</a>: “A substantial proportion of the seasonal harvesting workforce are engaged on piece rates and more than half of the seasonal harvesting workforce are temporary migrant workers. These characteristics render the seasonal harvesting workforce vulnerable to exploitation.”</p>
<p>Piecework arrangements needn’t be exploitative. It depends on the rates – whether they’re enough to make a living in a bad season, when fruit is scarce. By law, they should be. In practice they haven’t been. The Fair Work Commission has acknowledged and sought to address this. It’s about time.</p>
<h2>Underpayment is an open secret</h2>
<p>The Horticulture Award, which covers farm fruit and vegetable pickers, does set minimum weekly and hourly rates. But it also permits full-time, part-time or casual employees to make a piece-rate agreement with their employee. </p>
<p>Such agreements must be entered into “without coercion or duress”, and the agreed rate is meant to “enable the average competent employee to earn at least 15% more per hour than the minimum hourly rate” set in the award. </p>
<p>This has not been the reality for many. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/weve-let-wage-exploitation-become-the-default-experience-of-migrant-workers-113644">We've let wage exploitation become the default experience of migrant workers</a>
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<p>In 2017 the <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/593f6d9fe4fcb5c458624206/t/5a11ff31ec212df525ad231d/1511128887089/Wage+theft+in+Australia+Report_final_web.pdf">National Temporary Migrant Work Survey</a> found wage theft common for migrant workers. Of 4,322 participants in the survey, 46% earned no more than $15 an hour, while 30% earned $12 a hour or less. Wage theft was prevalent across a range of industries, but the worst paid jobs were in farm work. Of the migrants working as fruit and vegetable pickers, 31% earned $10 per hour or less, while 15% earned $5 an hour or less. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430442/original/file-20211105-13-1ktxmed.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430442/original/file-20211105-13-1ktxmed.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430442/original/file-20211105-13-1ktxmed.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430442/original/file-20211105-13-1ktxmed.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430442/original/file-20211105-13-1ktxmed.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430442/original/file-20211105-13-1ktxmed.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430442/original/file-20211105-13-1ktxmed.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Numerous studies have found wage theft rife in the horticultural sector, with piece rates being the most common means for underpay workers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<p>A 2019 study by Unions NSW and the <a href="https://www.migrantworkers.org.au/">Migrant Worker Centre</a>
in Victoria found similarly grim results. Of 1,300 migrant workers surveyed, 78% reported being underpaid at some point, and 34% on piece rates had never signed an agreement. The lowest piece rates reported were from grape and zucchini farms, where respondents reported earning as little as $9 a day.</p>
<p>Just ask any backpacker working in the sector if they know anyone who has been ripped off. It’s not exactly a secret. I’ve picked fruit myself and experienced it firsthand. </p>
<h2>A particularly vulnerable workforce</h2>
<p>It is worth noting that not all migrant farm workers have been equally vulnerable.</p>
<p>The Seasonal Worker Program, for workers from nine Pacific nations and Timor Leste, has been more tightly regulated, and generally successful in avoiding the sort of exploitation described above. In 2019 this program offered about 12,000 visas. Stephen Howes of the <a href="https://devpolicy.crawford.anu.edu.au/">Development Policy Centre</a> has argued the program could be expanded to <a href="https://www.farmonline.com.au/story/6969723/seasonal-worker-program-could-be-increased-tenfold-but-not-in-asia/">more than 100,000 places</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-closing-our-borders-to-foreign-workers-could-see-fruit-and-vegetable-prices-spike-134919">Why closing our borders to foreign workers could see fruit and vegetable prices spike</a>
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<p>Far more vulnerable to exploitation have been those on the more laissez-faire Working Holiday Maker Scheme – better known as the backpackers’ visa. This visa requires 88 days of farm work to stay in Australia for a year, and a further 180 days to stay for a second year. The evidence is that many accept being underpaid for those periods as a cost of staying in Australia. </p>
<p>Newly arrived Australian residents, particularly refugees, are also at risk, due to unfamiliarity with working rights and entitlements.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-australian-unions-should-welcome-the-new-agricultural-visa-169837">Why Australian unions should welcome the new Agricultural Visa</a>
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<h2>Closing a loophole</h2>
<p>If piece rates are set at a fair level, and the agreement is truly voluntary, such payment can be win-win – good for the farmer and an opportunity for a motivated worker to earn better money than just working for a flat minimum rate. </p>
<p>A lot of my career has involved working abroad in places where the poor and unconnected have no hope of getting ahead. Researching on Australian agriculture I’ve often been touched by the stories I’ve heard of experienced pickers, who plan to keep picking to save enough money to buy land of their own. They tend to be fierce and hard-working. You don’t want to get between them and the good fruit.</p>
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<img alt="Picking apples from apple tree." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430443/original/file-20211105-17-a4qz4z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430443/original/file-20211105-17-a4qz4z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430443/original/file-20211105-17-a4qz4z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430443/original/file-20211105-17-a4qz4z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430443/original/file-20211105-17-a4qz4z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430443/original/file-20211105-17-a4qz4z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430443/original/file-20211105-17-a4qz4z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Earning more than the Horticulture Award’s minimum rates through a piece-rate agreement does happen, but it is the exception rather than the norm.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<p>But not everyone is an experienced picker able to look out for their own interests. That is why a base rate is essential.</p>
<p>The problem with the piecemeal rate provisions in the the Horticulture Award was that clause 15.2(i) stated: </p>
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<p>Nothing in this award guarantees an employee on a piecework rate will earn at least the minimum ordinary time weekly rate or hourly rate in this award for the type of employment and the classification level of the employee, as the employee’s earnings are contingent on their productivity.</p>
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<p>The Australian Workers Union applied in December 2020 to have this clause struck out and replaced with a provision setting a minimum hourly rate for piecework. This application was supported by the United Workers’ Union, the Australian Council of Social Service, and the state governments of Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-migrant-workers-are-critical-to-the-future-of-australias-agricultural-industry-66422">How migrant workers are critical to the future of Australia's agricultural industry</a>
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<p>The application was opposed by the Australian Fresh Produce Alliance, the Australian Industry Group and the National Farmer’s Federation.</p>
<p>In its decision <a href="https://www.fwc.gov.au/documents/documents/awardmod/variations/2020/am2020104-2021fwcfb5554summary-fwc-031121.pdf">on October 3</a>, the Fair Work Commission said while some pieceworkers earn significantly more than the target rate for the “average competent employee”, the totality of the evidence “presents a picture of significant underpayment of pieceworkers”.</p>
<p>The best way to look at this is the Fair Work Commission closing a loophole.</p>
<p>It was already the responsibility of employers to pay piece rates high enough to allow competent workers make 15% more the minimum wage. Rather than thinking of this ruling as imposing an “extra cost” on farmers, it should been seen as putting in place a mechanism to ensure compliance with law. </p>
<p>A base rate takes the prospect of vulnerable workers getting paid $3 an hour off the table. That’s not asking for a lot.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/171291/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Rose's research has been undertaken with support from the Pacific Research Program, funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The views are those of the author only.</span></em></p>Australia’s Fair Work Commission has struck out a legal loophole allowing employers to pay farm workers exploitative piecemeal rates.Michael Rose, Research fellow, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1504472020-11-24T23:48:05Z2020-11-24T23:48:05ZNZ needs a plan to help migrant workers pick fruit and veg, or prices will soar and farms go bust<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/371161/original/file-20201124-17-m0z4j8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=17%2C8%2C5937%2C3964&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The COVID border restrictions might be saving lives but they’re also <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/123353079/frustration-and-desperation-as-harvest-workers-struggle-to-enter-nz">threatening the livelihoods</a> of New Zealand farmers, unless a way can be found to allow Pacific Island seasonal workers to return and pick the crops.</p>
<p>Since its inception in 2007, the Recognised Seasonal Employer (<a href="https://www.picknz.co.nz/resources/rse/">RSE</a>) scheme has enabled thousands of Pacific workers to be employed on New Zealand’s farms and orchards for around four months each year. </p>
<p>But not this year, due to the stringent border controls. Workers already in New Zealand when the borders closed have since been repatriated, leaving a severe workforce shortage.</p>
<p>As we head into <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/aussie-govt-attempts-to-pinch-kiwi-seasonal-workers-offering-2000-to-work-in-australia/OVROUBW3SYKPBLUWYHBJ5LRIKQ/">peak harvest time</a>, growers can only watch and wait as <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/122741361/this-just-cannot-happen-95-billion-at-risk-as-horticulture-sector-struggles-to-fill-25anhour-jobs">NZ$9.5 billion worth</a> of fruit and vegetables go unpicked and risk rotting in place.</p>
<p>If this summer’s crops quite literally go to the birds, then farms may go under, families will suffer and consumers will see the price of seasonal produce <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/waikato-news/news/strawberries-will-be-left-in-the-fields-if-more-pickers-cant-be-found/ZW5CGYD74J2NXJBV6JAIZLV26E/">skyrocket</a>. The recent <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/mediawatch/audio/2018772730/slim-pickings-reporting-the-shortage-of-labour-for-fruit-and-veges">NZ$30 a kg price</a> of courgettes — more than triple the normal price — was a warning.</p>
<p>Aside from allowing migrant workers to return safely, the other often proposed solution is to encourage newly unemployed Kiwi job seekers to do the work. Both present challenges.</p>
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<img alt="expensive courgettes in a supermarket" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/371165/original/file-20201124-23-ayyfr9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/371165/original/file-20201124-23-ayyfr9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/371165/original/file-20201124-23-ayyfr9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/371165/original/file-20201124-23-ayyfr9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/371165/original/file-20201124-23-ayyfr9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/371165/original/file-20201124-23-ayyfr9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/371165/original/file-20201124-23-ayyfr9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Market signals: the price of courgettes tripled due to the cost of picking during a critical labour shortage.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
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<h2>The problems with picking</h2>
<p>Leading growers say the arduous nature of the work makes it difficult to attract and retain domestic workers — even in an economic recession.</p>
<p>Too often billed as “unskilled”, crop picking is actually <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/aussie-govt-attempts-to-pinch-kiwi-seasonal-workers-offering-2000-to-work-in-australia/OVROUBW3SYKPBLUWYHBJ5LRIKQ/">highly specialised</a> work. Growers invest time and money training seasonal workers to ensure their crops are harvested correctly and handled with the care needed to command good prices.</p>
<p>Such investments show the relationship between many growers and pickers is more than simply transactional. For many, it’s an <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/eyewitness/audio/2018726025/rse-scheme-transformed-the-new-zealand-fruit-growing-industry">ongoing, personal and professional engagement</a> that is renewed annually. </p>
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Read more:
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<p>The average domestic worker — particularly those who have never considered crop picking — may simply not have the skills or availability required for the job.</p>
<p>As for the money, farm workers <a href="https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/kiwi-fruit-pickers-have-simple-message-growers-cry-labour-pay-us-more">receive</a> a minimum wage (NZ$18.90 an hour) base rate, plus holiday pay. If they want to earn more, labourers can work more hours or pick more fruit.</p>
<p>Figures from the industry show the average pay over the past season ranged from <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/122835805/is-pay-the-problem-how-much-indemand-orchard-workers-really-earn">NZ$21.64 to NZ$27.36</a>.</p>
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<h2>Low pay is an issue</h2>
<p>Ironically, the RSE scheme itself is at least partially to blame for the low rates of pay. The introduction of the scheme capped most jobs in the agriculture and horticulture sectors at <a href="https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/kiwi-fruit-pickers-have-simple-message-growers-cry-labour-pay-us-more">NZ$20 an hour</a>. </p>
<p>While this is considered a relatively high rate for migrant workers, domestic workers may not view it as a sustainable income. </p>
<p>However, some growers believe paying more may not necessarily generate greater interest from domestic workers. One Waikato berry farm owner who has been working with the Ministry of Social Development to hire domestic workers has <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/agribusiness/123179398/strawberry-farm-anticipates-losing-onethird-of-its-crops-due-to-lack-of-pickers-">said</a> people “weren’t applying”.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/pacific-tourism-is-desperate-for-a-vaccine-and-travel-freedoms-but-the-industry-must-learn-from-this-crisis-150722">Pacific tourism is desperate for a vaccine and travel freedoms, but the industry must learn from this crisis</a>
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<p>Logistics are also a challenge for many <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/northland-age/news/courgettes-rot-for-a-lack-of-pickers/MARAN5P7PMFR25L37U5ZNSDGDM/">unemployed domestic workers</a>. Rural, seasonal work may be geographically distant or simply not realistic as a solution to long-term unemployment. </p>
<p>The disruptive nature of the job also creates problems with childcare and other domestic responsibilities, as well as maintaining a work-life balance. Those issues are less pressing for migrant workers who arrive with the sole purpose of earning, and whose families and networks are prepared for their absence.</p>
<h2>Towards a migrant solution</h2>
<p>Though the government has begun investigating a possible trans-Pacific travel bubble, it may well be months before that becomes a reality. </p>
<p>Given the urgency of the situation, one solution lies in restructuring the current government-run Managed Isolation and Quarantine (<a href="https://www.miq.govt.nz/">MIQ</a>) system — perhaps using an adapted public-private partnership (<a href="https://infracom.govt.nz/major-projects/public-private-partnerships/">PPP</a>) model.</p>
<p>These MIQ facilities could be dedicated to accommodating Pacific Island migrant workers employed under the RSE scheme. The facilities would be funded and resourced privately by the agricultural industry, in strict compliance with Ministry of Health requirements. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/5-reasons-why-banishing-backpackers-and-targeting-wealthy-tourists-would-be-a-mistake-for-nz-150639">5 reasons why banishing backpackers and targeting wealthy tourists would be a mistake for NZ</a>
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<p>One leading grower who <a href="https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/covid-19-border-restrictions-putting-pressure-nzs-largest-strawberry-producer">sees the benefit</a> of the idea is Francie Perry of Perry’s Berries, New Zealand’s largest strawberry grower:</p>
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<p>We’ve got a facility that would be suitable for quarantine and we could quarantine 71 people in it and that would get us through.</p>
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<p>It’s commendable the government is encouraging the industry to find ways around its reliance on offshore workers and offer greater incentives to attract and retain Kiwi employees. </p>
<p>Collaborating to establish an <a href="https://www.primaryito.ac.nz/grow-your-career/free-apprenticeships-and-training/">apprenticeship programme</a> to encourage young New Zealanders to consider employment in our horticulture and agriculture sectors makes sense.</p>
<p>But this is a long-term vision, not a solution to the immediate crisis. </p>
<p>In the interim, a public-private approach to managed quarantine offers a viable solution that will benefit both the industry and the workers desperate to return to our fields, farms and orchards. The time to act is now.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/150447/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Swati Nagar does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Pandemic border restrictions are keeping seasonal crop pickers from the Pacific out of New Zealand. Would adapting the quarantine system help?Swati Nagar, Lecturer, International Business, Strategy and Entrepreneurship, Auckland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1459512020-09-22T20:16:15Z2020-09-22T20:16:15Z‘If JobSeeker was cut, the unemployed would be picking fruit’? Why that’s not true<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/359268/original/file-20200922-22-1j0gxby.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=209%2C110%2C3423%2C1447&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">F Armstrong Photography/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>I’m not sure which does the most harm: the cut of A$150 per week in JobSeeker payments <a href="https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/individuals/news/how-coronavirus-supplement-and-eligibility-some-income-support-payments-are-changing">due this Friday</a> or the sudden and coincidental volley of <a href="https://tinyurl.com/y3vyaxk7">media</a> <a href="https://7news.com.au/lifestyle/health-wellbeing/increased-coronavirus-unemployment-payments-keeping-people-out-of-work-pm-claims-c-1132681">reports</a> about unemployed people refusing jobs, including fruit picking. </p>
<p>This narrative is jarring when there are 19 people unemployed or underemployed for every vacancy and only <a href="https://lmip.gov.au/default.aspx?LMIP/GainInsights/COVIDInformation/ResearchandInsights">3%</a> of employers report that they are recruiting but can’t find enough applicants. </p>
<p>Are unemployment payments really that cosy since they almost doubled in April from $282.85 to <a href="https://theconversation.com/scalable-without-limit-how-the-government-plans-to-get-coronavirus-support-into-our-hands-quickly-134353">$557.85</a> a week? </p>
<p>$557.85 a week for a single adult is around 80% of the full-time minimum after-tax wage of $669 per week, and a good less again as a proportion of what most entry level jobs pay, because most pay <a href="https://findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/scholarlywork/1456487-prevalence-and-persistence-of-low-paid-award-reliant-employment">more than the minimum wage</a>.</p>
<p>Five studies conducted in the United States where unemployment payments were lifted US$600 per week during the coronavirus crisis found <a href="https://www.jec.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/d995d820-20d6-4a24-b93f-b1a16ce2b0d2/studies-show-600-weekly-enhanced-unemployment-benefit-has-not-slowed-labor-market-recovery-final.pdf">no evidence</a> they were discouraging people from finding jobs. </p>
<p>Some were making <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/q0kcoix35jxt1u4/UI_Employment_HPS.pdf">70% more</a> than they did while in jobs.</p>
<p>Unemployed workers would generally prefer to be in paid work, and in any event are usually <a href="https://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/policy-responses/public-employment-services-in-the-frontline-for-employees-jobseekers-and-employers-c986ff92/">required</a> to search for it.</p>
<h2>There are other reasons not to pick fruit…</h2>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/359252/original/file-20200922-22-t280on.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/359252/original/file-20200922-22-t280on.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/359252/original/file-20200922-22-t280on.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=971&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359252/original/file-20200922-22-t280on.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=971&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359252/original/file-20200922-22-t280on.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=971&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359252/original/file-20200922-22-t280on.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1220&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359252/original/file-20200922-22-t280on.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1220&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/359252/original/file-20200922-22-t280on.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1220&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Fruit pickers are often underpaid cash-in-hand.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Growers representatives have told a <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-15/backpacker-inquiry-jobseeker-allowed-pay-pick-fruit-coronavirus/12665390">parliamentary inquiry</a> that when JobSeeker payments were doubled, many workers collected their final cheques and went home.</p>
<p>But temporary migrants and young locals are often underpaid in such jobs.</p>
<p>Squeezed by powerful customers, employers with thin margins and a ready supply of labour have grown used to offering <a href="https://www.ag.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-03/mwt_final_report.pdf">very low wages cash-in-hand</a>.</p>
<p>In piece-work like picking where pay is tied to output, there’s no legal requirement to pay minimum wages. </p>
<p>A labour hire firm recently complained people weren’t taking up their offer of “<a href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/1246/Chalmers_fruit_pickers.pdf?1600747123">at least $500 per week</a>” to pick strawberries. </p>
<p>$500 is two-thirds of the minimum wage. </p>
<p>It’s not just the pay that discourages people from taking up crop picking: they need to be fit and able to travel for what’s often a short period of paid work. </p>
<p>This won’t work for <a href="http://www.data.gov.au/">many people on Jobseeker</a>, including the quarter with disabilities, the third aged 45 or over, and the 10% caring for children.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/unemployment-support-will-be-slashed-by-300-this-week-this-wont-help-people-find-work-146289">Unemployment support will be slashed by $300 this week. This won't help people find work</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>There are <a href="https://www.sydney.edu.au/content/dam/corporate/documents/business-school/research/work-and-organisational-studies/towards-a-durable-future-report.pdf">ways to reduce</a> under-payment and high turnover in such jobs. </p>
<p>Reducing our reliance on temporary migrants would be a first step. </p>
<p>Otherwise, employers won’t compete fairly to attract workers, and local workers will remain wary. </p>
<p>More direct contact between the employers and unemployed people and less reliance on labour hire firms would help build trust.</p>
<h2>…and other reasons not to work more days</h2>
<p>Jobseeker tops up the wages of many part-time workers.</p>
<p>It is cut by 50c for every dollar earned above $53 per week, then 60c for every extra dollar earned up to $128 per week, before cutting out completely for a single adult on $544 per week. </p>
<p>Former social security official <a href="https://twitter.com/dplunky">David Plunkett</a> calculates that before COVID and the effective doubling of JobSeeker, a worker on it gained a net $100 to $200 for working one to three days a week at the minimum wage, climbing to $269 for the fourth day, after which Jobseeker expired. </p>
<p>Since the new arrangements and top up that effectively doubled JobSeeker, the net gains have fallen slightly $100 to $175 for the first three days, before dropping to just $5 on the fourth. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-compromise-that-might-just-boost-the-jobseeker-unemployment-benefit-142321">The compromise that might just boost the JobSeeker unemployment benefit</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The problem isn’t the effective doubling of JobSeeker, it’s the sudden-death <a href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/1247/topup.pdf?1600750569">cut off</a> of the top-up as soon as the last dollar of Jobseeker expires.</p>
<p>That flaw could be fixed by tapering the supplement out gradually (rather than increasing the “income free area” to $150 per week as the government <a href="https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/individuals/news/how-coronavirus-supplement-and-eligibility-some-income-support-payments-are-changing">is proposing</a>).</p>
<p>There’s no need to force people to choose between poverty and entry-level jobs. </p>
<p>Even if, for example, Jobseeker was increased permanently to the pension rate, it would still be under 70% of the minimum wage after tax. </p>
<p>Incentives for part-time work can be fixed by reforming income tests and tax. Beyond that, the answer to periodic labour shortages, exploitation and high turnover in entry-level jobs is better entry-level jobs.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/145951/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>In addition to his affiliation with UNSW Sydney, Peter Davidson works for the Australian Council of Social Service. Views expressed are his own. </span></em></p>Exploitation and underpayment is rife in fruit picking. The Coronavirus Supplement appears not to have dented the will to work.Peter Davidson, Adjunct Senior Lecturer, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1350522020-04-17T04:22:27Z2020-04-17T04:22:27ZGreat time to try: pickling<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/325166/original/file-20200403-99369-vzkws7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=17%2C2368%2C3817%2C3385&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Brooke Lark/Unsplash</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Being in isolation might be a great time to try something new. In <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/great-time-to-try-84901">this series</a>, we get the basics on hobbies and activities to start while you’re spending more time at home.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>Pickling foods in vinegar or fermenting them in brine is one of the oldest food preservation methods. The earliest <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5897286/">archeological evidence</a> comes from Ancient Mesopotamia and the Tigris River Valley more than 4,000 years ago.</p>
<p>Pre-refrigeration, pickling allowed vegetables and fruits to be eaten long after they were in season, and meats such as salt pork to be carried on <a href="https://www.history.com/news/ahoy-pass-the-cabbage-preserved-foods-in-the-age-of-exploration">long journeys</a> and into <a href="https://journals.lww.com/nutritiontodayonline/Abstract/2002/05000/Food_in_American_History_Part_5__Pork__A_Nation.5.aspx">wars</a>. Pickling soon spread around the world: pickles are mentioned by Aristotle, in the Bible and in Shakespeare’s plays. Cleopatra and Queen Elizabeth I were prominent proponents of their <a href="http://agrifoodscience.com/index.php/TURJAF/article/view/2350">health properties</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-sauerkraut-is-leading-a-food-revolution-60133">How sauerkraut is leading a food revolution</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The wide adoption of <a href="https://alamoashrae.org/images/downloads/Historical_Articles/ahistoryofrefrigeration.pdf">electrical refrigeration</a> in the 20th century meant pickling was no longer necessary for preserving food, but by then pickles were appreciated for their taste, and so the method has lasted.</p>
<p>The 1893 edition of <a href="https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/beetons-everyday-cookery-and-housekeeping">Mrs Beeton’s Every-day Cookery and Housekeeping Book</a> has a number of inspiring and achievable recipes ranging from gherkins and herrings to nasturtiums as an alternative to capers. </p>
<p>Mrs Beeton also includes a warning against purchasing “inferior” commercially produced pickles, as <a href="https://www.safefood.eu/Food-Colour-Resource/History.aspx">copper sulphate</a> was used to give a vivid, but unfortunately quite toxic, colour. Anxiety over <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2442131">food adulteration</a> reached dizzying heights in the Victorian age, with dangerous and even poisonous substances added to foods to enhance colour and flavour, or eke out more expensive ingredients. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/11324379?q&versionId=24197553">Country Women’s Association Cookery Book</a> from 1936 compiles “tried-and-true” members’ recipes, with a pickled beetroot recipe using a thin layer of melted fat to form an airtight seal on the cooled jar. Such vacuum sealing was essential for unrefrigerated storage.</p>
<p>In New Zealand, the 1968 edition of <a href="https://www.booktopia.com.au/aunt-daisy-cookbook-the-basham/book/9781869711849.html">The Aunt Daisy Cookbook</a> contains an entire chapter on pickles and chutney, including pickled figs, peaches and pears. One recipe suggests steeping blackberries in sugar overnight, boiling in vinegar, then spicing with ground ginger and allspice. </p>
<p>Reflecting Australians’ increasing interest in other cuisines, Margaret Fulton’s <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21163866-margaret-fulton-s-encyclopedia-of-food-and-cookery">Encyclopedia of Food and Cookery</a> (1983) used a number of Asian flavours, such as her curried aubergine pickle with fresh ginger and chilli. Fulton was also aware of how pickling can turn waste destined for the green bin or compost into a crunchy condiment, as in her recipe for pickled watermelon rind.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/vale-margaret-fulton-a-role-model-for-generations-of-australian-food-writers-120897">Vale Margaret Fulton: a role model for generations of Australian food writers</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Easy recipes to try at home</h2>
<p><strong>Almost Instant Cucumber Pickle</strong></p>
<p>“Quick” or “refrigerator” pickles provide an easy way into pickling. The below is barely a recipe, but it is both reliable and totally adjustable to taste. </p>
<ul>
<li>1 tablespoon vinegar (apple cider, white wine or rice)</li>
<li>1 tablespoon cold water </li>
<li>2 teaspoons sugar (white, raw or soft brown) </li>
<li>¼ teaspoon salt</li>
<li>1 cucumber, washed (peeled, or not, depending on variety)</li>
</ul>
<p>Mix vinegar and water in a bowl, and stir in sugar and salt until dissolved.</p>
<p>Thinly slice in the cucumber. Stir gently.</p>
<p>An even more instant result is obtained by marinating the cucumber slices in some liquid from a jar of pickles.</p>
<p>Finely chopped dill, mint or chives can be added. More (or less) vinegar, water, sugar or salt can be used to taste.</p>
<p>This can be made during the day and refrigerated, covered, until dinner, or assembled while the rest of the meal is being prepared. Drained, these crunchy slices can be used on burgers and in sandwiches and salads, or just enjoyed on their own. They can be stored in the fridge for a few days, but become softer.</p>
<p>This is also a delicious way of pickling a thinly sliced red onion. When left for a couple of hours, it emerges from the solution not only soft and sweet, but a gorgeous pink. </p>
<p><strong>Cauliflower Pickle</strong></p>
<p>This recipe adapts elements from Aunt Daisy and Margaret Fulton. It requires some patience waiting for the flavours to develop, but not too long. Nervous about food hygiene, I keep this in the refrigerator.</p>
<ul>
<li>1 medium cauliflower, broken into florets</li>
<li>1 onion, peeled and cut into 8 wedges (about a cup)</li>
<li>⅓ cup salt</li>
<li>5 cups vinegar (white)</li>
<li>¾ cup sugar (white or raw) or ½ cup golden syrup</li>
<li>1 teaspoon turmeric</li>
<li>1½ tablespoons mustard seeds (or coriander seeds, or a mixture)</li>
<li>2 red chillies, halved lengthwise</li>
<li>glass jars with plastic-plated lids (I reuse medium-sized, 450g pickle jars)</li>
</ul>
<p>Put cauliflower and onion in a large non-reactive glass or stainless-steel bowl.</p>
<p>Sprinkle with salt, stir a few times and leave in a cool place for three hours.</p>
<p>Wash glass jars and their lids in hot, soapy water. Rinse and place in a warm oven, about 140°C to <a href="https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/how-sterilise-jars">sterilise</a>.</p>
<p>Drain vegetables. </p>
<p>Mix vinegar, sugar or syrup, turmeric, seeds and chilli, and bring to the boil.</p>
<p>Add vegetables and cook gently for about 5 minutes. This depends on the size of the florets. They need to be just cooked through, not mushy.</p>
<p>Using a slotted spoon or soup ladle, put vegetables (not liquid) into hot jars.</p>
<p>Bring spiced vinegar up to the boil again and pour into jars to cover the cauliflower and onion. </p>
<p>Seal the jars. Let cool and then store in refrigerator for at least a week.</p>
<p>This makes about three jars, depending on the size of the cauliflower, onion and jars.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/135052/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Donna Lee Brien does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Humans have been pickling for at least 4,000 years. Maybe it’s time you tried?Donna Lee Brien, Professor, Creative Industries, CQUniversity AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1237832019-09-24T12:58:18Z2019-09-24T12:58:18ZExplainer: why phenology is key in tracking climate change<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/293397/original/file-20190920-135113-m2otyv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The longest phenological record derive from the cherry blossoms in Japan. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Phenology is the timing of annually recurrent <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0309133315578940">biological events</a>. These include the timing of spring blossoming, fruit development in summer and leaf colouration in autumn. In animals it can include the timing of migration, hibernation, hatching, and mating. </p>
<p>The timing of these phenological events is <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168192312002869">controlled</a> by climate. </p>
<p>The longest phenological record derives from the Japanese cherry festival, dating back to the <a href="https://rmets.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/joc.1594">ninth century</a>. The date of flowering, and hence the timing of the festival, has been affected over the centuries by changes in spring temperatures. </p>
<p>In the United Kingdom, the <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2261570?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents">Marsham record</a> comprises two centuries of phenological records captured by generations of the Marsham family, which scientists found captured advances in phenological events driven by changes in temperature and rainfall. </p>
<p>A paper written eight years ago in South Africa showed how apple and pear trees in the southwestern Cape were <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168192310002893">flowering earlier</a> due to changes in temperature.</p>
<p>These changes in the timing of phenological events are important to monitor. Phenology is <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ele.12135">argued</a> to be one of the most sensitive biological indicators of climate change. Phenological shifts are often <a href="https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1023/A:1016125215496.pdf">detected</a> long before irreversible ecosystem responses are apparent. </p>
<p>In a <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0309133315578940">review paper</a>, we found that the volume of research on phenological responses to climate change increased significantly during the 1990s. This has <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0309133315578940">enabled scientists to compare</a> between study sites, species and different phenological events. </p>
<p>During this time, the methods used in monitoring and recording phenological changes expanded to include satellite remote sensing, digital repeat photography, phenological models and greenhouse experiments. Ground-based studies, which involve scientists or the public observing specific plants became widespread through citizen science projects such as the <a href="https://www.usanpn.org/usa-national-phenology-network">National Phenology Network</a>. This research remained, however, largely restricted to the northern hemisphere.</p>
<h2>How it works</h2>
<p>Depending on the species, phenological events are <a href="http://www.ssag.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/2018-Proceedings-of-the-Biennial-Conference-of-the-Society-of-South-African-Geographers.pdf">triggered</a> by the onset of rainfall, reaching a threshold temperature, the accumulation of heat above a certain threshold following winter, or the number of hours of sunshine, or even a combination of these. </p>
<p>As the climate is <a href="http://www.weathersa.co.za/Documents/Climate/SAWS_CC_REFERENCE_ATLAS_PAGES.pdf">changing</a> – with a progressive increase in temperature, changes in rainfall regimes, and heightened frequency of extreme events – these triggers are in many instances occurring earlier.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-the-indian-ocean-is-spawning-strong-and-deadly-tropical-cyclones-116559">Why the Indian Ocean is spawning strong and deadly tropical cyclones</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Across the world in all classes of plants and animals, phenological shifts are <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nature01286">happening</a> because of these climatic changes that result from global warming. For most plants and animals, these phenological events are happening <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1365-2486.2007.01404.x">earlier</a> each year. For some species, they’re are being <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168192314002019">delayed</a>. </p>
<p>This is because they are waiting on cooler, rather than warmer conditions, which are taking increasingly longer to occur, or are delayed by dormancy conditions not being <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-018-0067-3">fulfilled</a>. This is what is happening to the sardine run along the <a href="https://theconversation.com/we-tracked-south-africas-sardine-run-over-66-years-heres-what-we-found-120369">KwaZulu-Natal coast</a>.</p>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>Phenological events are also often economically important. For example, changes in the timing of apple and pear flowering dates in the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168192310002893">southwestern Cape</a> has important implications for the quality and quantity of the fruit yields. Shifts in the timing of the <a href="https://www.sajs.co.za/article/view/5887">sardine run</a> affects both fishing and tourism in Durban and surrounding towns. </p>
<p>This requires the public to be more aware of phenology. To think about how these shifts may affect their businesses, and to share records – whether diaries, photographs, logbooks or even oral histories – that capture these phenological events with scientists who can add them to a regional model to better forecast changes for unrecorded species and regions.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/123783/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jennifer Fitchett receives funding from the NRF-DST Centre of Excellence for Palaeoscience. </span></em></p>Monitoring the timing of recurring biological events is key to understanding the effects of climate change.Jennifer Fitchett, Senior Lecturer in Physical Geography, University of the WitwatersrandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/696502016-11-30T08:12:50Z2016-11-30T08:12:50ZWhy it’s now Labor’s turn to compromise on the backpacker tax<p>With time running out until federal parliament pulls up stumps for the year, the backpacker tax debacle has reached new heights. Yesterday the issue <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-the-government-can-learn-from-the-backpacker-tax-debacle-69550">seemed resolved</a> because of a 15% tax rate deal between One Nation, Nick Xenophon and the Coalition. It now appears to have <a href="http://www.canberratimes.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/senate-snubs-government-deal-on-backpacker-tax-in-surprise-turnbull-government-defeat-20161130-gt0klf.html">unravelled, with the Senate voting in support of a 10.5% tax rate</a> for backpackers.</p>
<p>So unless we’re willing to charge backpackers the ludicrous tax rate of 32.5% from the first dollar earned, it’s now incumbent upon someone to blink.</p>
<p>The Coalition, after saying “never ever” to going below 19%, has already agreed on 15%. Having already done this, it seems unlikely the Liberals would now be willing to agree to 10.5%. Perhaps the Nationals can be persuaded to <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/latest-news/senate-insists-on-105pct-backpacker-tax/news-story/3bc9e2bdecde295de387e265a08feaae">cross the floor</a>, like some did on the <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/nationals-stage-a-latenight-revolt-in-the-senate-over-the-adler-shotgun-ban-20161121-gsueqe.html">Adler shotgun</a> a few weeks back.</p>
<p>Equally unlikely, however, is that One Nation renegade Rod Culleton or independent senator Derryn Hinch will agree to 15%, given that they’ve announced today that they will only support 10.5%.</p>
<p>So it seems like the ball is firmly in Labor’s court. If Labor gets behind a 15% tax rate then this issue can be resolved. During the election, Labor didn’t present a view on the appropriate rate of taxation for backpackers, but since then has come out in favour of a 10.5% rate.</p>
<h2>The politics of the backpacker tax</h2>
<p>What has been particularly interesting about the politics of the backpacker tax is the confusion of messages being sent by the major parties. </p>
<p>The Coalition has long been the champion of regional Australia and yet it proposed the 32.5% tax with no consultation with this core constituency, and without seemingly considering the impact of the tax on the horticulture industry. </p>
<p>Now the Coalition has changed its position, lining up with the National Farmers’ Federation in advocating for a 15% tax. Ironically, it is Labor, traditionally the friend of local workers, that is advocating for growers to have easier access to backpackers, falling in behind Jacqui Lambie’s 10.5% tax rate.</p>
<p>Behind the political confusion lies a deeper uncertainty about the role backpackers play in the Australian workforce. On the one hand, there is a concern that they be sufficiently remunerated so they remain part of the workforce. There’s an <a href="https://theconversation.com/factcheck-would-backpackers-be-better-off-working-in-australia-than-nz-england-or-canada-with-a-19-tax-rate-69332">argument that we don’t want them to take their working holiday in a range of competitor countries</a> including the UK, New Zealand and Canada.</p>
<p>On the other hand, there is a concern that they contribute to the economy through paying tax on a par with everyone else, and that they are not too well paid so as to flood the labour market and replace local jobs. There is a delicate balance here.</p>
<p>And, there is a related issue that is not being spoken about at all in this debate. A <a href="https://www.fairwork.gov.au/about-us/access-accountability-and-reporting/inquiry-reports#417-visa">report</a> by the Fair Work Ombudsman recently exposed the extent to which backpackers were being exploited in the horticulture industry. Many backpackers are paid off the books at well below award wages. The issue of tax is moot for these workers.</p>
<h2>Why 15% is the appropriate tax rate</h2>
<p>Having conducted a year-long, comprehensive review into the labour needs of the Australian vegetable industry, it is our opinion that the appropriate tax rate for backpackers is 15%. </p>
<p>Our research has shown that growers in particular regions have a very heavy reliance on backpacker labour which has come to characterise the industry. At 15% backpackers would <a href="https://theconversation.com/factcheck-does-the-backpacker-tax-rate-leave-backpackers-better-off-in-australia-than-nz-england-or-canada-69332">still receive more income in Australia</a> than they would receive in NZ with a 10.5% tax rate, or in Canada or the UK.</p>
<p>Growers depend upon backpackers at harvest time and without this source of labour, and without a genuine alternative, a vast array of fruit and vegetables will be lost. The harvest season is now upon us and with growers in Tasmania reporting a <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-11-18/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-backpacker-tax-analysis/8034584">40% drop in backpackers</a> applying for horticultural jobs because of the political uncertainty around the tax, the risks are too great of leaving this issue unresolved. </p>
<p>In order to meet the needs of growers for the current harvest season, a tax rate of 32.5% is simply too high to incentivise backpackers to work in the industry. Equally however, a tax rate of 10.5% is too low when important contextual factors are taken into account.</p>
<p>There are currently two migrant labour supply solutions provided by the Australian government for growers. One is the <a href="https://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa-1/417-">Working Holiday Maker visa</a> which allows backpackers a second year extension on their visa if they complete an 88 day period in certain industries. About 90% of backpackers work in horticulture to meet this requirement, providing an army of between 33,000-40,000 to growers in the past few years. </p>
<p>The second option for growers is to use the <a href="https://www.employment.gov.au/seasonal-worker-programme">Seasonal Workers Program</a> which enables the sponsorship of workers from the Pacific for a period of six to nine months. Overwhelmingly, growers use the backpacker visa instead of the Seasonal Workers Program. In its current iteration, the Seasonal Workers Program doesn’t meet the needs of industry.</p>
<p>It is both important and appropriate that the two labour supply solutions be taxed at the same rate. Workers in the Seasonal Workers Program are taxed at 15% and so should backpackers.</p>
<p>Our research has found that the Seasonal Workers Program is a superior labour supply solution for the horticulture industry. It has the potential to become a much better source of workers for growers, to supplement the participation of local workers. In our <a href="http://horticulture.com.au/addressing-labour-supply-issues-in-the-vegetable-industry/">research report</a>, to be released for Horticulture Innovation Australia in early 2017, we advocate the redesign and expansion of the Seasonal Workers Program so that it better meets the needs of growers and workers.</p>
<p>The use of backpackers in the horticulture industry has long undermined the ability of the industry to grow and plan for the future, has been associated with endemic exploitation of workers. It has also resulted in the use of a far less productive and reliable group of workers. In recent months the political uncertainty around the backpacker tax has exposed the unpredictability of backpackers as a labour supply solution for the industry.</p>
<p>The horticulture industry deserves better. It contributes <a href="http://www.agriculture.gov.au/ag-farm-food/hort-policy/horticulture_fact_sheet#trade-statistics">A$2.1 billion in exports</a> and produces <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4102.0Main+Features10Dec+2012">93% of fresh food</a> consumed in Australia. It’s an industry of critical importance to Australia’s food security and economic prosperity.</p>
<p>Labor needs to recognise that a 15% tax rate is the appropriate outcome to this mess. Going forward, it is now incumbent upon both major political parties to develop long-term, bipartisan labour supply solutions for the horticulture industry.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/69650/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr Joanna Howe is the leader of a project investigating labour supply options in the Australian vegetable industry (VG 15025) commissioned by Horticulture Innovation Australia in 2016. The project's report, co-authored with Associate Professor Alex Reilly, Associate Professor Diane van den Broek and Dr Chris F Wright will be released in early 2017.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>
Alex Reilly is currently conducting funded research into labour supply in the Australian vegetable industry for Horticulture Innovation Australia, and into international students and work for the Fair Work Ombudsman.
Alex is a volunteer on the Management Committee of the Refugee Advocacy Service of South Australia, which offers means tested legal and migration assistance to asylum seekers who are not eligible for government assistance.
</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chris F. Wright is currently working on research projects funded by the University of Sydney and Horticulture Innovation Australia.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Diane van den Broek works for the University of Sydney. She has received funding from Hort Innovation. </span></em></p>The use of backpackers in the horticulture industry has long undermined the ability of the industry to grow and plan for the future.Joanna Howe, Senior Lecturer in Law, University of AdelaideAlex Reilly, Deputy Dean and Director of the Public Law and Policy Research Unit, Adelaide Law School, University of AdelaideChris F. Wright, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of SydneyDiane van den Broek, Senior Lecturer, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/671842016-10-25T17:01:33Z2016-10-25T17:01:33ZWhy ignoring non-seasonal farm workers is a danger to agriculture<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/143043/original/image-20161025-31489-1j0qwxe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Working the land.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-188976878/stock-photo-portrait-of-a-young-woman-at-work-in-greenhousein-uniform-and-clipboard-in-her-hand-greenhouse-produce-food-production-tomato-growing-in-greenhouse.html?src=ogvzB_OxJkC58mJgF1WV-A-2-46">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Farming is one of many industries facing <a href="https://theconversation.com/brexit-why-uncertainty-is-bad-for-economies-64334">uncertainty in a post-Brexit world</a>. The way crops and livestock are managed could <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-would-brexit-mean-for-british-farms-54857">look very different</a> in the years ahead. </p>
<p>The politician responsible for British agriculture, Andrea Leadsom, recently caused controversy by <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-latest-news-andrea-leadsom-young-britons-fruit-picking-eu-migrants-a7342196.html">suggesting</a> British people fill fruit-picking jobs potentially left vacant by migrant workers. But the very notion that young Britons should go “back to the land” to do a job associated with meagre wages, long hours, gruelling, and in some cases <a href="http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_analysis/1083134/bitter_harvest_how_exploitation_and_abuse_stalks_migrant_workers_on_uk_farms.html">slave-like conditions</a> caused a <a href="http://newsthump.com/2016/10/03/young-britons-looking-forward-to-post-brexit-fruit-picking-apprenticeships/">flurry of ridicule</a>. </p>
<p>Indeed, Leadsom’s remarks, and the response they provoked, demonstrate significant confusion about what actually constitutes a career in agriculture. Casual workers make up just 33% of the agricultural workforce, and seasonal fruit and vegetable picking is only one cog in the very complex machine that is farming in the 21st century. Ignoring the majority of the agricultural workforce could be a big mistake.</p>
<p>Farm workers make up less than 1% of the current British workforce. Since around 1850, with the rise in industry drawing people to urban jobs, and the increasing development of technology and machinery, the number of farm workers has <a href="http://researchbriefings.parliament.uk/ResearchBriefing/Summary/SN03339#fullreport">declined significantly</a>, from around 1.7m to around <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/structure-of-the-agricultural-industry-in-england-and-the-uk-at-june">130,000 today</a>. </p>
<p>Over the last ten years this rapid decline in permanent farm workers has somewhat stemmed, partly due to an adaptation of new technology creating new work opportunities. A <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/211175/pb13982-future-farming-review-20130709.pdf">government review</a> estimated in 2013 that 60,000 new entrants would be needed in the agricultural industry over the next ten years. Yet some farms are already struggling to fill permanent positions, many of which are well-paid with substantial benefits. With <a href="http://www.fwi.co.uk/news/survey-explodes-myths-about-careers-in-agriculture.htm">only 4% of young people</a> considering a job in food and farming, along with potential Brexit fallout stemming from new policies on immigration, close attention needs to be paid to the agricultural labour force in order to prevent a further crisis.</p>
<p>Research in 2014 for The National Centre for Universities and Businesses revealed that many students are put off working in agriculture due to a <a href="http://www.ncub.co.uk/search.html?searchphrase=all&searchword=attitudes%20and%20perceptions">poor perception</a> of jobs in the sector. This is despite <a href="http://www.fwi.co.uk/news/survey-explodes-myths-about-careers-in-agriculture.htm">a study of 1,300 farm workers</a> revealing a happy workforce which largely debunked the myths of the work being low-paid, unskilled or boring. </p>
<p>A large majority of that workforce – 80% – said they would recommend a career in agriculture. </p>
<p>A <a href="http://www.nuffieldinternational.org/rep_pdf/1441530372Andrew-Brewer-report-2013.pdf">lack of connection</a> between the agricultural industry and secondary education has also been cited as one of the main issues steering potential workers away from farming careers. My own research among farm workers in south-west England suggests bright young students are often discouraged from pursuing a career in farming by teachers and careers officers.</p>
<p>Many believe that <a href="http://qz.com/726667/cheap-robots-are-coming-for-our-farm-jobs-by-taking-the-most-brutal-tasks-first/">automation will fill the gap</a> created by the lack of availability of labour, replacing human intuition that has been relied upon for centuries, with precision agriculture. But technology and innovation also bring new opportunities, and don’t automatically signal <a href="http://www.bahs.org.uk/RHT/RHT%20issue%2012.pdf">the extinction of the farm worker</a>.</p>
<h2>Harvesting new talent</h2>
<p>At a crucial point in the agricultural industry, where a potential <a href="http://www.farminguk.com/News/UK-faces-land-based-skills-shortages-says-report_29768.html">skilled labour crisis</a> looms large, the old image of agricultural work being back-breaking and intellectually undemanding needs a complete overhaul. </p>
<p>Without access to sufficient labour, many businesses could be forced to move away from labour intensive farming, such as <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/211175/pb13982-future-farming-review-20130709.pdf">horticulture, dairy, pigs and poultry</a> – or move out of farming altogether. </p>
<p>With the <a href="http://foodresearch.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Agricultural-labour-briefing-FINAL-4-July-2016.pdf">average age of the farm workforce older than 55</a> and with fewer people crossing the gap from agricultural education to the farm workforce, everything that can be done to attract new entrants into the industry should be done. </p>
<p>Leadsom was right in saying that more young people should be encouraged to “engage in countryside matters”. But by bunching the concept of an agricultural career up with preconceived notions of seasonal labour, she has created a precarious lack of clarity around the issues.</p>
<p>As for encouraging more British workers to pick fruit in the future, <a href="https://theconversation.com/who-picked-british-fruit-and-veg-before-migrant-workers-63279">if history is anything to go by</a>, this looks unlikely. So, while the potential shortage in seasonal labour need to be <a href="https://www.cla.org.uk/sites/default/files/Labour%20Market%20-%20Email.pdf">urgently addressed</a>, new entrants to the permanent agricultural workforce need to be suitably encouraged, trained and invested in, to secure the future of British agriculture. </p>
<p>In the face of significant challenges such as climate change, an increasing population, and the unpredictability of global markets, the British farming industry needs to be more competitive, sustainable, and resilient than ever. </p>
<p>We need effective schemes and apprenticeships, the provision of the right opportunities by employers, and the establishment of a greater and more informed linkage between schools and farming to provide a sturdy step in the direction of a more secure future for farming.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/67184/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Caroline Nye receives funding from the John Oldacre Foundation</span></em></p>Working the land is a vital – and fruitful – career option.Dr Caroline Nye, PhD candidate, University of ExeterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.