Tasmanian Fruit Producer Shuns Local Picker

[icyfroth]

One of Australia's biggest fruit producers has been accused of shunning would-be harvest workers in Tasmania.

 Costa Group recently advertised for hundreds of vacancies for berry picking jobs for locals in the state's north-west.

 But many local residents suspected they would be overlooked by the company, which had concerns about the reliability of the region's job seekers.

 The berry producer has more than 200 job vacancies to fill in the next two weeks.

 Less than 24 hours after the positions were advertised, dozens of job seekers turned out for a workplace induction.

 Some of the would-be pickers are among the 8 per cent of north-west Tasmanians who are unemployed.

 One job seeker said he was looking for a new career.

"It's going to be hard work compared to in a kitchen but, you know, that'll be good for me." he said.

 "My grandmother told me to come and get a job 'cos I was too lazy on school holidays," said another.

 Costa had previously revealed plans to employ 750 people this harvest season, including backpackers and Tongan workers, and said it wanted 30 per cent of its workforce to be locals.

 But jobseeker Joel Reid said he did not think locals were given a fair go.

 "They say that there aren't the numbers here without going offshore to do the work and I don't believe that at all," he said.

 "I think they've got way enough people here to do the work myself if you just look around."

 The company had complained that many locals walk off the job within days.

Phillip Matthews from the Devonport Chamber of Commerce said that prompted calls for exit interviews to find out if they were opting for welfare payments instead.

 "Then tailor the social security system so that there is a consequence in place for people that leave good paying work for no reason," he said.

 But others believe penalties to welfare payments for locals who drop out of fruit-picking work are not the answer.

 Burnie Community House manager Tracey Eddington-McKay said more support for unemployed people to get harvest work was desperately needed.

 She agreed that a better understanding of why people leave fruit-picking jobs was needed.

"I think an exit interview is a great idea because we need to understand this industry and what needs to happen to retain local people," she said.

 "It's a complex issue, a punitive approach is not the answer."

 Father of two Christian Micallef said he had been on the dole for a year and had applied to Costa twice.

 "No response, [I] tried contacting [them], couldn't get through," he said.

 Federal MP for Braddon Brett Whiteley said he had raised the concerns of his constituents with the company.

 "I've spoken to Costa again today about that and we've spoken about whether or not there are any blips in their system and I think if there are they have a responsibility to fix those," he said.

https://au.news.yahoo.com/world/a/25905955/tasmanian-fruit-producer-accused-of-shunning-local-worker...

My guess is, people walk off the job once they realise how hard it is. Much easier to stay at home on the dole.

You can see why the government want to regulate unemployment benefits.

[gleee58]

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@icyfroth wrote:

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@gleee58 wrote:

My guess is, people walk off the job once they realise how hard it is. Much easier to stay at home on the dole.

You can see why the government want to regulate unemployment benefits.

So you missed the bit about the locals claiming they are not getting the chance to walk off the job because they are not getting the jobs in the first place.   Costa is not forthcoming with the numbers of people that are supposedly walking off the job.  

erm...no. I didn't miss that bit:

"It's going to be hard work compared to in a kitchen but, you know, that'll be good for me." he said.

 "My grandmother told me to come and get a job 'cos I was too lazy on school holidays," said another.

BTW. how much do you think people should get paid to pick blueberries?

I assumed it was piece-work, as you have confirmed. The more you pick, the more you get paid.

Say you got paid $20 for a shift and it cost you $18 in petrol how long would you last?

Probably not long. 

You wouldn't drive there anyway, surely. Most fruit growers truck their pickers if from a central point. That's what they'd be doing for their Togan workers. 

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Wow, talk about passing judgement with few facts.

I think you've been watching too many Mexican movies.  We don't carry people in trucks in Australia.  And people have to fnd their own way to work.  The Tongan workers could be in tents on the farm paying a couple of hundred a week in rent.  One of the attractions with imported Labour is the fact that wages can be reduced by charging high fees for board and lodgings to get some cash back.

[lloydslights]

Grapes of Wrath?

DEB

[lloydslights]

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@gleee58 wrote:

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@icyfroth wrote:

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@gleee58 wrote:

Wow, talk about passing judgement with few facts.

I think you've been watching too many Mexican movies.  We don't carry people in trucks in Australia.  And people have to fnd their own way to work.  The Tongan workers could be in tents on the farm paying a couple of hundred a week in rent.  One of the attractions with imported Labour is the fact that wages can be reduced by charging high fees for board and lodgings to get some cash back.

__________________________

Maybe not in trucks.  But buses are used from townships to some mine sites.  So I imagine it could be possible for fruit pickers.

DEB

[lyne-flyn]

Probably not long. 

You wouldn't drive there anyway, surely. Most fruit growers truck their pickers if from a central point. That's what they'd be doing for their Togan workers. 

I worked on a number of different smallcrop farms in Queensland and it was a case of get yourself there or you didn't work.

Not one single farmer ever picked up and dropped off their workers....even when it was a 60k round trip.

[lloydslights]

Perhaps, if a farmer was being reimbursed by a government funded package to employ those workers, the farmer would make an effort to actually get them on site?

There is such a thing as car pooling too.  People need to help themselves to get jobs.  

Frankly, I would find it difficult after being in air conditioned surroundings (and some of the young have not known otherwise) to work outdoors for extended periods.

DEB

[gleee58]

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@lloydslights wrote:

Perhaps, if a farmer was being reimbursed by a government funded package to employ those workers, the farmer would make an effort to actually get them on site?

There is such a thing as car pooling too.  People need to help themselves to get jobs.  

Frankly, I would find it difficult after being in air conditioned surroundings (and some of the young have not known otherwise) to work outdoors for extended periods.

DEB

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Remember the area in question is an area in which a lot of the young expect to work on farms.  They can't car pool to a job that is not offered to them in the first place.  

The point is this company is finding excuses to not employ local people.  They have 1500 applications that they haven't managed to look at.

[cherry*135]

There is such a thing as car pooling too.  People need to help themselves to get jobs.  

Young people that need jobs (and fruit picking jobs are seasonal), don't own cars to be able to car pool.

How would a youth on youth allce be able to afford a car, petrol, registration and any car repairs?

I have never heard of fruit farmers providing buses to get workers to work. Workers would come from all different parts of the area/city, not practical. Most farms/orchards would be out of ahy public bus route.

[gleee58]

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@am*3 wrote:

There is such a thing as car pooling too.  People need to help themselves to get jobs.  

Young people that need jobs (and fruit picking jobs are seasonal), don't own cars to be able to car pool.

How would a youth on youth allce be able to afford a car, petrol, registration and any car repairs?

I have never heard of fruit farmers providing buses to get workers to work. Workers would come from all different parts of the area/city, not practical. Most farms/orchards would be out of ahy public bus route.

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One article I read said they need 750 people and would aim to hire up to a third locally.  Next article they admitted to having 1500 application forms and whinged that they had no time to sort through them.   The truth is they put their hand out for money to develop the farm on the proviso that they would be an employment saviour then when the time came they ignored the Tasmanians in favour of imported seasonal workers.

[chameleon54]

Friends had an apricot orchard reasonably close to heavily populated area. They needed around 150 employees in season, but found many dole recipients only lasted the first day and then simply never showed again.  It was a huge problem finding reliable workers who would turn up on time, week after week and the reliable regulars where sought after and valued by local farmers.. The wages where half reasonable and the work was repetative but not too hard. My wife and I worked there for a few weeks and it wasnt too bad. The constant round a bout of pickers was a real eye opener.

Farmers have the same problem with sheep shearing. Shed handing ( handling the fleeces ) is hard work, starting at 7.30 am. and not knocking off till 5.30pm. Shed hands earn over $200 per day, but still farmers find it impossible to fill positions. Most unemployed people simply cant run fast enough to do the job. ( it is very full on ) . Some of the best workers are Kiwi woman who come over here to work the sheds. I have employed them myself and always been very impressed with their tenacious work ethic.

My 15 year old son has just started working in shearing sheds. He,s not afraid of hard work and has already started to get offers of work from shearing contractors etc  Its a pity Costa wouldnt give the locals a fair go. Although there would be many people who would not be suitable, there would be a large number of locals who would love the chance to become regular pickers year in year out. These regular hard workers do build a reputation in country towns and are highly sought after by different businesses at different times of the year. This is just how it normally works in farming / country communities.