YOUR BUSINESS
Will you miss out on labour?
T
OPINION PIECE BY MELISSA DENNING AND AMBER ATKINSON VEGETABLESWA
he seeds have been planted, the rain has fallen and the sun has shone and now the fruits of your labour are ready to be harvested.
The time has now come that you must depend on others: pickers, packers, backpackers, travellers, students, labourers and anyone else who can get your crop into the bins/crates/boxes/ bags/punnets to get them to market. But who will you get; how will you get them; and how long will they stay?
These are all questions and issues that get raised every year, but add in a pandemic, travel restrictions, and an unknown number of available workers and you’ve got a unique set of circumstances that require careful consideration. Labour is always an issue. The time it takes to recruit, train and then get those employees up to competent speed are all costs to the business. Comments from growers over the last couple of months have indicated a varying range of concern over labour. Some growers are sorted. They have their workers already in Australia under the Seasonal Worker Programme (SWP) and will see through their season.
Other employers that would have had SWP workers arrive have been able to source from other farms that are finishing their crops. Some farms are not able to bring in their workers so will revert to Working Holiday Makers (WHMs) this year and wait to return to normal next year. Others have their fingers crossed that they will be able to find enough people to cover their needs. Employers that utilise the SWP are very familiar with having to submit plans and paperwork several months in advance in order to garner approval from the Department of Education, Skills and Employment (DESE). We know for a fact that Agriculture Minister, David Littleproud, will allow Seasonal Worker Programme and Pacific Labour Scheme workers to extend their stay for 12 months to work for approved employers.
Meanwhile Working Holiday Makers (WHM) will be exempt from the six-month limit with one employer and be eligible for a further visa to continue helping farmers get on with the jobs. To get a clear picture of what is currently happening in the WA labour space, we spoke to the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD), Agribusiness Development Manager Jackie Jarvis.
Who will you get; how will you get them; and how long will they stay? 74
WA Grower WINTER 2020
She confirmed that while there was an influx of backpackers and WHM’s into some parts of regional WA following the closure of the hospitality sector in March, she has been provided with data from the Department of Home Affairs that shows 34% of WHM have left Australia since March.
