According to new data, some 10,000 job seekers have taken up fruit picking work, with almost a third of those taking the job after November. This data was provided by the Department of Education, Skills and Employment (DESE). Another 3,500 people, who are fit and willing to do the work applied and were rejected.
Obviously, this calls some to question the insistence that farmers are ‘desperate’ for boots on the ground. Last year, farmers blasted the high rate of JobSeeker, saying it was contributing to a labour shortage. The government has also run a campaign against job seekers, claiming they are too lazy to get off the couch and pick fruit.
Due to international border closures, the industry was confronted with 26,000 missing pickers and millions of dollars in rotting, unpicked produce. Farmers and industry say everyday Australians won’t get out there and do the work, while Australian job seekers say they’ve tried, but they’re either snubbed by farmers, or treated poorly and severely underpaid. But according to thenewdaily.com.au, the data shows that between July 1 and January 31, only 17,000 jobs were offered through government-contracted job providers to unemployed Australians.
Stigma in employing Australians
Job providers are just one way locals looking to take up picking work. Hostels and social media are the most popular ways people look for farm work. One example of this is Harry McKibbin who lost his job at a gym in Sydney when the pandemic hit. He picked up his stuff, drove to Cairns and has been working on farms since December.
“There’s definitely a stigma around hiring Australians – like they think they’re lazy and don’t work,” he said. “If you’re messaging someone [about a job] you don’t say ‘I’m Australian’, say you’re interested. I think if you give them too much info, it might be a negative.”
Three plane loads of foreign workers set to land in WA
As part of the Western Australia Seasonal Worker Programme (SWP) and Pacific Labour Scheme (PLS), another 500 foreign workers will touch down in Perth by April to help pick WA’s fruit and vegetable crops.
Ausveg.com.au reports that about 160 workers from Fiji are due to land in Perth on 16 March, followed by a further two flights carrying a similar number from Vanuatu.
