The Fair Work Commission's sudden decision to give growers just two weeks to implement changes to the Horticulture Award will force small- and medium-sized businesses to rush changes and make mistakes, say farmers caught by the surprise move.
Ausveg, the peak industry body for the country's vegetable and potato growers, claims the tight implementation requirement could lead to accidental non-compliance.
Employers have until April 15 to start paying casual workers special 15 per cent overtime rates for working overnight, or where employees work more than 12 hours a day or 304 hours in an eight week stint.
The National Farmers Federation said the commission had blind-sided farmers this week after originally deciding, back in 2017, casual employees in the horticulture sector must receive overtime.
These changes aren't straight forward
- Tony Mahar, National Farmers Federation
Chief executive officer, Tony Mahar, said farmers needed time to revisit their budgets, their business strategy and workforce planning to assess the impact of the change and time to modify their plans if needed
"Wages make up the highest component of a horticulture operation's cash costs," he said.
Give us a break
"It's also the case that these changes aren't straight forward."
Victorian Farmers Federation vice president, Emma Germano, urged the Fair Work Ombudsman to guarantee it would not prosecute farmers for accidental non-compliance for 12 months after the implementation date.
Farm industry bodies worked with the Australian Workers Union and the National Union of Workers to develop an overtime framework for the decision so it minimised the impact on farmers.
Mr Mahar said the NFF did not object to the proposal to require growers to pay a 15pc "night loading" for causals working overnight or overtime rates for more than 12 hours work each day.
Although it was a change many growers would find difficult to accommodate, Mr Mahar said NFF took the view it was less problematic than possible alternatives outcomes, such as entitlements which mirror those of permanent employees.
"The commission needs to remember until it formally adopted this arrangement, farmers were unsure where the decision would land," he said.
"And, now as a result, farmers have been left at a distinct disadvantage."
The industry already has issues with finding workers to pick and harvest crops
- James Whitside, Ausveg
Ausveg CEO, James Whiteside, said while the overall decision left some growers at risk, the most pressing concern was the time they have been given to implement these changes.
"Fourteen days to implement these changes is not enough time for growers, many of whom will be in the middle of their busiest harvest for the year, to enact these changes," he said.
Workers left at risk
"The majority of growers in the industry are small- or mid-sized businesses which will be hard pressed to implement these changes by mid-April, leaving them and their workers exposed."
"The industry already has issues with finding workers to pick and harvest crops - this decision and the quickfire implementation period will only exacerbate the problem in the short-term and could lead to further issues with finding workers in the long-term."
"We will, of course, take every step to ensure our members are compliant with the Horticulture Award, but to be forced to rush the implementation of these changes in a fortnight is quite unreasonable."
VFF's Ms Germano described the two-week implementation period as unreasonable and showed the commission had "a very poor understanding of the horticulture sector, and the administrative burden these changes will have".
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Andrew Marshall
Andrew Marshall is the group agribusiness writer for ACM's state agricultural weeklies and websites. He is a former editor at The Land and has worked in various Rural Press group roles in Canberra, North Richmond (NSW) and Toowoomba (Qld).
Andrew Marshall is the group agribusiness writer for ACM's state agricultural weeklies and websites. He is a former editor at The Land and has worked in various Rural Press group roles in Canberra, North Richmond (NSW) and Toowoomba (Qld).
