The Australian Workers’ Union has today welcomed Labor’s agriculture workforce policy which contains a range of measures to secure the workforce Australian farms require, without rolling out the welcome mat to more abuse and exploitation.
The plan announced by the ALP today rolls David Littleproud’s failed ‘ag visa’ into the more successful and established PALM (Pacific Australia Labor Mobility) scheme. Under Labor’s policy workers on the scheme will have the ability to apply for more permanent migration, and the government will play a more active role in covering the costs of travel.
The policy also includes higher standards on inductions and stricter rules around approved employers.
Vitally, employees will also have the right to change employer so they will no longer be accused of ‘absconding’ if they leave an exploitative employer.
“David Littleproud’s tenure as agriculture minister has been calamitous, unethical, and embarrassing. Thankfully the policy announced by Labor today would help clean up the ungodly mess he’s made,” said AWU National Secretary Daniel Walton.
“Instead of begging the Foreign Minister to convince her Asian counterparts to accept a ‘trust us’ frankenstein visa with no safeguards, Labor’s plan would build on the success of the established PALM scheme, which would strengthen existing ties with our Pacific neighbours.
“Australia doesn’t need to run an agriculture sector that turns an intentional blind eye to worker exploitation and abuse. We can uphold Australian working standards on farms while continuing to grow our industry. Labor has laid out a plan for how this can be achieved.
“Crucially, under Labor’s plan, ethical farmers who do the right thing will no longer be undercut by dodgy operators whose business models rely on exploitation.
“The election battle lines are now clear. Labor now has a plan to reward good farmers who do the right thing. Littleproud and the Nationals have a plan to reward unethical farmers who like to exploit foreign workers.”