Inquiry Into Labour Hire Vic

Friday,15January 2016

TheChairman

Victorian Inquiry into theLabourHireIndustryandInsecureWork

DearProfessorForsyth,

SubmissiontotheInquiryintotheLabourHireIndustry

AgriLabourAustraliaprovidesthefollowingsubmission toyou forconsiderationin relationtoyourinquiryin tothelabourhireindustryin Victoria,especiallyasitrelatestolabourhireserviceswithin theagricultureand horticultureindustries.

AgriLabourAustraliais aspecialistagriculturerecruitmentand labourhireproviderwhichwasfounded in 2009and hasbeen supplyinglabourhireservicesin totheVictorian marketsince2011.Ourbusinessis builtonaholisticunderstanding of theagriculturalindustryanda genuinepassion toseeitsucceed.Wearecontinuouslydriven todeliverclientsolutionsthatarecosteffectiveyet,ensurequality isnevercompromised.

Thereputationofourcompanyissomethingwetakepersonallyandwealwaysstrivetoexceedourclients’expectationsbylistening,understandingtheirrequirementsandprovidingthehighestqualityofserviceandstaffingsolutions.

At AgriLabour Australiawe pride ourselvesonourcompliance standards, especiallyinrelationtoworksafety, immigrationand FairWork.We see compliance as anon-negotiable term of businessand,for thisreason, weonlyemployour on-hireworkersand do not engage themasindependent contractors.

We observe a higher rate of independent contractor engagement byotherso-called‘labour hire providers’withinthe horticultureindustryand, fromour experience, suchmethods of engagement are unsustainable whenconsidered against compliantworkplace relationsstandards.This formofengagement, other thanfor the engagementof knowledgeableand experiencedmanagement positions,should not be tolerated asitcreates anunevenand unfair playingfield where unskilled and semi-skilledworkersare

paid lessthanminimumaward, superannuation and workerscompensationentitlements.

AgriLabour Australia on-hire a broad range of occupational typestotheVictorianmarketincludingfarmhands, plant/machineoperators,horticultural pickers packers,livestockindustryworkers(e.g. poultry, piggeryand dairyattendants) and foodmanufacturingprocessworkers.

Ofthe 700 employeeswehave assigned toclientseachweek(average) themajorityareemployed ona casual basisbecause of theseasonal and project nature of thework.

Nearlyallof the assignmentswe fill for ourclientsare of three monthsdurationor less.Weather disruptionsplaya significant part inour clients’capacitytoofferongoingworkand their decisiontouse aflexible labour provider suchasAgriLabour.

Asmall percentage of our workersare employed permanentlywhere the work is of anongoingnature and workcanbe guaranteed byclientse.g. stationhandsandmanagerialpositions.Wedonot employtraineesand apprenticesas there isnodemandand,because ofthe short termnature of our employment of on-hire employees, weareunable toemploymost workersfor longenough.Ourexperience isthat ourclientswilloffer traineeshipsinternallywithintheir businessor utilise the servicesof a specialisttraineeship service provider such as a group trainingscheme.

Fromour experience overthe pastsixyears of operatingthe majorityof workers arehappytoworkflexibly andare not necessarilylookingfor permanent employment.Ourcandidatesand employeesunderstand theseasonalnature of the agriculturalsector andutiliseour firm’sservicestocomplement their lifestyle choices.There are, however,certainlya certainpercentage of workersand candidateslookingforongoingpermanentemployment and, fromtime totime, ourclient’swill offer those opportunities.AgriLabour Australia isalwayshappytofacilitate permanent employment ifthatis thepreference ofour client, asmentioned above.Thiscanbe done throughon-hire, asmentioned above,or byplacement directlywiththeclient for direct-hire employment orengagement.

Ourservicesremain popularamongstour clientsbecauseoftheir:

./desireto ensurecomplianceunderFairWorkand immigration legislationwhenemploymentisnottheircorebusinessspecialisation;

./need toreduceadministration associated with theemploymentand managementoftheirworkforce;

./desirefor atrueand sustainablelaboursupplypartner to supplementtheircoreworkforce; and

./achieveefficiency and productivityby workingwith a specialistinthefieldofemployment.

Aspreviouslymentioned,AgriLabour Australia areconcerned about the prevalence oflabour contractorsthat fail tomeet eventhemost basicworklawcomplianceobligations.Inour experience illegal labour iscontinuingtobe offered inthehorticulture industryof Victoria because ofclient commercial requirementstokeep costto a minimum, combinedwithignorance ofgrowers as towhat it trulycoststoemploysomebody.Labour iscontinuingtobe supplied togrowersinthe Sunraysia district bybackpacker hostelsand, inother cases, bylabourcontractorsthat offer topicka farm orfield for a fixed lump sumprice.Fixed price workcanbe conducted lawfullyhowever,itrequires a knowledgeableand reputable contractingfirm toensure that anyquote cansustainthe lawful employment of workersand, unfortunately, oftenthisisnot the case.

Fromour experience non-compliant labourcontractors inthe horticulture industryoperate with a verysmallfootprint withnoregistered or physical office,multiplebusinessnameswhichchange regularly, non-specificadvertisingof serviceswithlimitedinformationbeingprovided onwagesand conditionsfor workers.Furthermore,manyof the non-compliant labour contractors‘offer’accommodationand logistics aspart of a packaged solutiontolabourersand, inmany cases, engage foreignworkerswithlimited knowledge oftheir rights oranunwillingnesstopursue their rightsbecause oftheir immigrationvulnerabilities.

We believe thatState andFederal Governmentsshould respond toillegal labourcontractorsbysignificantlyincreasinglevels ofcompliance enforcement withinthehorticulture and agriculture industry.There are sufficient lawsand regulations alreadyinplace and the creationof newlawsand regulationswon’t fixthe problemofillegaloperatorswhosimplychoose toignore those laws.Inour experience, thereisverylittleenforcement workbeingundertakeninthe field bythelikes of Fair WorkOmbudsman,WorkSafeVictoria or anyother bodywithenforcementrights.

CreatingnewlawsandregulatoryobligationswillmakeitmoreexpensiveforcompliantandbonafidelabourhirefirmslikeAgriLabourAustraliatooperateandwillonlyservetoincreasethepricegapbetweenusandtheillegaloperators.

AgriLabour Australia arehappytoexplore anyinitiative, such as licensing, tobringabout greatercompliance.However, we aresceptical about whetheritwill address

those operatorsthat arecurrentlyfloutingthe lawbecause theyalreadyworkoutside ofthe laws.If the Government were tointroduce a licensingscheme we would want to:

•ensureitdoesn’ttieup cash flowforour businessaslabourhirefirmsarealreadychallenged bylatepayingclients;

•ensurefulland properround tablediscussion withtheindustryand industrybodytoensureitisworkable;

•ensurethatan accreditation system would notbeamoreeffectiveway ofpromotingcompliancewherea clientwould beprosecuted forengagementofanon-accredited provideroflabour;and

•ensureallformsof third partylaboursupplyarecaptured, notjust‘labourhire.

Inclosing, we feel that itisveryimportant forthisinquirytoconsider themultitudeofways inwhichresponsible and genuine labour hirefirmscontribute tothe broadercommunityin terms of findingworkfor the vulnerable.AgriLabour Australiaare, byexample, committed tofindingemployment for ex-service menand womenvia ourAgriVeteransProgramwhichisconducted inWalkingWounded, acharitycreatedbyveteranstohelp ex-service people find work,support, communityand rehabilitationonce theyreturntocivilianlife.Throughthisprogram, we aimtobridge the gapbetweendeployment andemployment, and tohelp those who have served ournationtoagainfindmeaningand purpose intheir careersandlives.Acopyof our brochure withfurther detailsofthisimportant programare available at this linkAgriVeterans.

Thankyoufor theopportunitytoprovide thissubmissiontothisimportantinquiry.Should youwishtoobtainfurtherinformationfromAgriLabour Australia onanyof themattersraised inthissubmissionplease do not hesitate tocontact ManagingDirector,CaseyBrown,

YoursSincerely,

CaseyBrownManagingDirector