Fruit picking

dorian · Guru

Fruit picking

msg · Guru

Nobody in Australia can do the job as cheaply or be as meek and mild and undemanding as overseas labour. There is indeed a shortage of these types of workers. They need an advocate that will fight and speak for them. This is undermining all the gains for conditions and rates of pay Australians have worked for. We are very quickly becoming a third world country where the labourers are treated like slaves so the big companies can make huge profits. How like "that" country.

-- Edited by msg on Saturday 6th of February 2021 10:57:51 AM

-- Edited by msg on Saturday 6th of February 2021 11:00:32 AM

travelyounger · Guru

dorian wrote:
I was under the impression that grey nomads who turned up at farm gates looking for work as fruit pickers would have no trouble getting hired.
Not so this "young" guy (53 years):

Would-be fruit picker calls for more flexible hiring practices as growers seek answers to worker shortage:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-02-06/fruit-pickers-call-for-more-flexibility-with-industry-shortage/13098362

Can be back breaking and hard tedious work and best left for the younger or fit people

Cheers

bgt · Guru

Folks I've been in the situation of looking for workers in horticulture. Believe me it's not just pay rates, There is a huge proportion of Australians who simply wont do hard work.

I've bought contractors in from overseas because we couldn't get locals to do the work. I've had discussions with immigration about workers coming into the country. I've given evidence at federal senate committee level.

I've represented grey nomads at federal level. I've had federal agreements on grey nomad work. I've seen the ATO destroy proposed programs for casual workers.

If anyone here thinks they have the answer good luck. There are dozens of moving parts in the story and those moving parts more often than not are pulling in different directions.

The first step is 'encouraging' more Australians to get off their collective butts.

Whenarewethere · Guru

I was doing one off large jobs, about one every year. With this irregular income the government took away my GST number.

I got the message & stopped working. Would have liked to continue, but I could manage & was good at being frugal when needed & it wasn't worth the effort arguing.

yobarr · Guru

bgt wrote:
Folks I've been in the situation of looking for workers in horticulture. Believe me it's not just pay rates, There is a huge proportion of Australians who simply won't do hard (ANY?) work.

The first step is "encouraging" more Australians to get off their collective butts.

Bruce,again you are absolutely right.I have highlighted the points I particularly agree with.Unfortunately,these bludgers,supported by the many 'do gooders',have a lot of voting power,simply by sheer weight of numbers.A friend of mine used to work 5 days/week as a courier driver,but as soon as he realised how much he could be paid for doing nothing,he resigned.Now he spends his day smoking hooch,drinking beer and racing around the bush on his motorbike,with a bit of income from "cashies" repairing friends cars etc.Yep,it certainly is a tough life when you're not only bludging,but also milking the system.Many moons ago I worked silly hours as a fruit picker around Mildura and Kyabram,for very little income,but at least I was making some sort of a contribution to society.Working with us were lots of young ladies,Aussies and from overseas,and we spent many enjoyable hours drinking beer and 'socialising'....aaah,those were the days.Cheers

Brodie Allen · Guru

msg wrote:
Nobody in Australia can do the job as cheaply or be as meek and mild and undemanding as overseas labour. There is indeed a shortage of these types of workers. They need an advocate that will fight and speak for them. This is undermining all the gains for conditions and rates of pay Australians have worked for. We are very quickly becoming a third world country where the labourers are treated like slaves so the big companies can make huge profits. How like "that" country.

-- Edited by msg on Saturday 6th of February 2021 10:57:51 AM

-- Edited by msg on Saturday 6th of February 2021 11:00:32 AM

If the overseas labor doesn't do the work and Aussies need 3 to 4 times the rate to get of their

Socialist butts, then you'll be paying a lot more for your produce.

but you won't mind, will you?

msg · Guru

msg wrote:
Nobody in Australia can do the job as cheaply or be as meek and mild and undemanding as overseas labour. There is indeed a shortage of these types of workers. They need an advocate that will fight and speak for them. This is undermining all the gains for conditions and rates of pay Australians have worked for. We are very quickly becoming a third world country where the labourers are treated like slaves so the big companies can make huge profits. How like "that" country.

-- Edited by msg on Saturday 6th of February 2021 10:57:51 AM

-- Edited by msg on Saturday 6th of February 2021 11:00:32 AM

Protesters call for wage theft crackdown in Adelaide's Chinatown following alleged assault (msn.com) This is happening everywhere in all industries.

oldbloke · Guru

Yep, off topic, but not paying superannuation is another one some employers try. All the more reason to log in and check moneys are being deposited ad required. Two tried me out. But I was onto them.