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Australian Workers’ Union National Secretary Daniel Walton has told a Senate committee his union will not bow to demands from the federal government to cease speaking to ambassadors and the community about the dangers of the new Agriculture Visa and the culture of exploitation that exists within the farming industry.
Mr Walton appeared alongside fruit picker and Chinese national Kate Hsu before the Senate Select Committee on Job Security this morning.
“Unfortunately, exploitation is now a core part of many farmers’ business model,” he told the committee.
“A huge number of temporary visa places have been provided over the years for backpackers and seasonal workers, with barely any rules and inadequate monitoring, compliance, and enforcement. Since 2016, 11 different pieces of research have investigated exploitation of horticulture workers… and they have all come back with the same findings: underpayment, mistreatment, shocking conditions and exploitation are systemic.
“This is not just a few bad eggs. The Fair Work Ombudsman investigated hundreds of employers over 5 years in its Harvest Trail inquiry; more than half of its investigations found a breach of workplace laws. Three-quarters of these breaches involved underpayment. Poor pay and conditions have been justified on the basis of ‘labour shortages’ – that there are too few Australians willing to take up the work. But every day, Australians, including thousands of AWU members, get up to work in jobs that are just as tough and arduous as fruit picking. The difference is they have access to Australian standards of pay and Australian working rights.”
Mr Walton told the senators the situation would only be exacerbated by the government’s proposed new Agricultural Visa. The AWU has being repeatedly attacked by Agriculture Minister David Littleproud for speaking about the dangers of the new visa with ambassadors to Australia, but Mr Walton vowed to continue speaking out frankly.
“So far, all of the potential agriculture visa partners have seen right through this. Legislation to establish the visa was passed in October, yet not one country has signed up to join the program,” Mr Walton noted.
“Only Indonesia has been willing to publicly express an interest in the program, yet after an expensive trip last week, Minister Littleproud came back with no deal on the ag visa. Why didn’t Indonesia sign up? Because they understand that worker exploitation is rife in Australia.
“[Mr Littleproud has] told every regional newspaper and radio station that will listen to him that the AWU hates Australia, hates farmers, that we’re disgraceful, that we’re getting in the way. Yet, since the visa announcement in June last year, we reached out several times to discuss how we can deal with labour concerns in the horticulture sector. He’s still yet to take a meeting with us.
“We are still opposed to the ag visa, because the government hasn’t done enough to protect the workers already here, whether they’ve come from the working holidaymaker program like Kate or they’re hear under the Pacific programs. Instead of threatening and intimidating workers and their representatives we should be encouraging workers who are getting shafted to speak out, reach out so that we can find you a better workplace.”

The Australian Workers’ Union is now counting down the days until April 28 when the new hourly minimum rate for fruit pickers will come into force
Last November, the AWU secured an historic industrial win for fruit pickers by successfully arguing the Horticulture Award should be altered to ensure every worker is entitled to take home the minimum casual rate of pay, currently $25.41.
The Fair Work Commission has now announced the guaranteed hourly rate will come into force on April 28 and will be calculated daily as recommended by the AWU, and not per pay period as advocated by the farmers’ lobby.
“It’s fantastic that from April 28 fruit pickers will get some certainty about how much they should be legally paid for their labour — the union is counting the days,” said AWU National Secretary Daniel Walton.
“For too long the farmers’ lobby has seen fruit pickers as somehow beneath the usual standards offered to Australian workers. But the hard work of pickers deserves the same minimum wage dignity afforded to everyone else.
“We are grateful the Commission has ruled hourly rate earnings must be calculated daily. One of the great advantages of last year’s historic ruling was the clarity it provided. Fruit pickers — who often have limited English and information about Australian laws – will now find it easy to assess if they are being ripped off by their employer.
“Now at the end of each day every picker should be assured that their work netted at least $25.41 an hour. If not, their employer is stealing from them and breaking the law.
“It is deeply disappointing that the farmers’ lobby saw fit to try and obfuscate the simplicity of the system by arguing that the calculation should be made per pay period. We are glad they were not successful.
“This ruling is a huge advance for this industry and for all the farmers who are already doing the right thing.”

A Rio Tinto report into workplace culture finding unacceptable and systemic bullying, sexism and racism is shocking but would not surprise workers, the Western Mineworkers Alliance said today.
The report by Elizabeth Broderick found that of all Rio Tinto’s divisions globally, bullying and sexual harassment were highest in its iron ore division, in Western Australia’s Pilbara region. More than half of Rio Tinto’s iron ore employees reported experiencing bullying and one third of women in iron ore experienced sexual harassment.
Mining and Energy Union President Tony Maher said that Rio Tinto’s toxic workplace culture had been exacerbated by the mining multinational’s push to deunionise in the 1990s and move workers onto individual contracts.
“Rio Tinto became anti-union zealots with their so-called ‘direct engagement’ approach. But crushing union presence on their sites removed a collective voice and important layer of protection for workers.
“It meant workers were dependent on the approval of their immediate supervisor to get a pay rise or even to keep their job, leading to sycophancy, nepotism and fear of raising issues like bullying and harassment. Direct engagement has left a damaging legacy for Rio Tinto’s workplace culture.”
Australian Workers Union National Secretary Dan Walton said the findings in Broderick report echoed those in a union survey of WA iron ore miners’ experiences of sexual harassment and assault undertaken last year. The WMWA raised concerns from the survey during last year’s WA parliamentary inquiry into sexual harassment in the FIFO mining industry.
The WMWA told that inquiry that its extensive industry survey had found:
· One in five women said they had experienced physical acts of sexual assaults.
· One in five women said they had been explicitly or implicitly offered career advancement or benefits in return for sexual favours.
· One in three women said they had received requests for sexual favours, and repeated invitations to engage in sexual relationships.
“Our members spoke loud and clear about unacceptable behaviour on site and their lack of trust in managers and supervisors to take action. Women told us about being threatened with ‘blacklisting’ if they pursued complaints of sexual harassment.
“Rio Tinto has an opportunity now to take real action to address its workplace culture. Feel-good management training is not enough. Managers and supervisors must be held to account and workers must be supported to organise collectively through their unions to build confidence and give them a voice to deal with issues like bullying and harassment. It’s a positive step that Rio Tinto has released this report and we are ready to work collaboratively to improve the working lives of our members and all mineworkers.”
The Western Mineworkers Alliance is a joint venture by the Australian Workers Union and Mining and Energy Union to represent Pilbara iron ore workers.

Greens Leader Adam Bandt has expressed disappointment at Labor’s capitulation to Scott Morrison’s plan to give $600 million in public money to Snowy Hydro to build a gas-fired power plant that experts say we don’t need.
In 2021 Labor said the plan looked like “a cynical attempt to pick a fight on gas and continue the climate wars, or to reward the major Liberal donor who owns the Kurri Kurri site.
The Greens also said non-binding ideas of converting to green hydrogen down the line are a fig leaf for new gas infrastructure.
Greens leader, Adam Bandt MP said:
“Gas is as dirty as coal. This power plant is Scott Morrison’s Trojan horse for more methane gas, and now Labor is backing it too.
“If you’re spending public money on new coal and gas projects, you’re not serious about tackling the climate crisis.
“Public money should go to schools and hospitals, not dirty gas plants that aren’t needed and will make the climate crisis worse.
“The Liberals have got to go, but with Labor wanting more coal and gas, the only way to get climate action is to put the Greens in balance of power.
“Non-binding pledges about green hydrogen don’t stop this from being a terrible idea. The Kurri Kurri plan is so flawed that there is a major risk that it will run on diesel before it ever runs on hydrogen.
“Currently there is no gas to feed the proposed plan, which is why it is planned to run on diesel for up to 12 months, after which new gas fields like Narrabri will  be fracked to supply Kurri Kurri.
“It’s stupid to use public money to build a methane-fuelled power plant that may some day be powered by something else instead of just building more renewables and storage right now.”

Australian Greens foreign affairs spokesperson Senator Janet Rice has condemned the Australian Government’s resounding inaction against the Myanmar military and again urged the Foreign Minister to impose targeted sanctions against Junta leaders and their business interests.
Senator Rice said:
“It’s now been a year since the coup in Myanmar, the brutal junta are still in power, and the Australian Government has done nothing but sit on its hands watching the body count pile up and democracy fade into memory.
“Junta security forces have killed almost 1500 people, including 75 children, and locked up thousands of journalists, activists, and other civilians – including Australian Sean Turnell and Myanmar’s democratically elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
“The Greens are again urging the Australian Government to impose targeted sanctions against Commander-in-Chief Sr Gen Min Aung Hlaing, other key junta leaders, and their business interests. It is unconscionable that we haven’t already when that’s exactly what hundreds of organisations on the ground in Myanmar have long been calling for.
“The US, UK and Canada had imposed targeted sanctions against the military regime months ago, and have done so again today. Australia is an outlier among our allies as we continue to ignore a year of human rights abuses and tacitly legitimise undemocratic rule.
“Meanwhile our government-owned Future Fund is investing in companies that are directly linked to Myanmar’s violent military junta.
“The coup anniversary statement from the Foreign Minister today is an insult to the people in Myanmar and the Burmese community here in Australia. All concern and no action does nothing to halt the junta’s violence.
“What is the Foreign Minister waiting for? Parliament has now passed Magnitsky legislation – it’s time we use it.
“While facing violent retribution from the Myanmar military, we’ve seen thousands of brave people in Myanmar fighting every day to end this injustice and restore democracy. The Australian Government must finally stand with them and take action against this coup.”

The Morrison Government will provide $210 million to support the aged care workforce to continue to care for older Australians during the COVID 19 pandemic.
A bonus of up to $800 will be made in two instalments of up to $400 each.
The bonus will be paid to workers providing care and support in Government subsidised home care and to residential aged care workers. The payments will be for clinical care workers and expanded to all those providing direct care, food or cleaning services in Government subsidised residential care.
Minister for Health and Aged Greg Hunt said the payments acknowledged the response of the aged care workforce to the ongoing challenges of the pandemic.
“The Government is providing these bonus payments to aged care workers in recognition of their dedication in continuing to care for our vulnerable older Australians during these difficult times,” Minister Hunt said.
“These workers have been caring for those who have been most at risk through the pandemic and their dedication has been outstanding.”
“These payments will also be an extra bonus for those who recently retired but have responded to the request to return to work during the recent workforce shortages.”
Minister for Senior Australians and Aged Care Services, Richard Colbeck, said the Government was committed to providing the best possible quality of care to our vulnerable older Australians.
“Aged Care workers are the backbone of the care and services provided to older Australians, which is why we continue to invest in growing and upskilling the workforce,” Minister Colbeck said.
“They continue to show their dedication and resilience in caring for older Australians during the COVID 19 pandemic, whether it’s through achieving one of the highest workforce vaccination rates in the world or a myriad of other ways.”
“The payments will provide additional encouragement to continue working through the pandemic and will help to attract additional workers into aged care.”
Those workers employed on 28 February 2022 will receive a bonus payment of up to $400, with another instalment of up to $400 made to workers employed on 28 April 2022.
Aged care providers will apply for the payments and will pass on the assessment to employees.
“I encourage providers to make this payment to eligible employees as soon as possible after they have confirmation of the amount of the payment,” Minister Hunt said.
This Aged Care investment by the Morrison Government is the fourth workforce bonus with three payments already made totalling $393 million going to more than 230,000 workers.
The workforce support is in addition to the $18.3 billion commitment made by the Morrison Government in response to the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, to ensure senior Australians receive the care, respect and dignity they deserve.