havo, We have always had a free market within your definition in the form of being able to freely contract or not contract with anyone we wish to. This operates in the Private. The area of concern here relates to Public policy settings that allow abuse of human rights operating within corporate law.
I'm afraid it is not - unless you are a propaganda victim. This is not news - the issues have been with us for over a decade that I am aware of. They are not unique to agriculture or Australia. However, the confected outrage and hyperbole courtesy of the 4 corners program seems to me to have a highly specific agenda beneficial to the unions. I expect there will be union calls for protection of the downtrodden any day now as they attempt to insinuate themselves into the agriculture sector through the immigration protection door. There are already signs of Pollies leaping into action (can we shut down agriculture this week?) The Pacific Workers scheme is an interesting case in point. Nice theory - take on farmers, teach them best practice, have them for our season then they return to implement their skills in theirs - five years or so and relationship building. Good stuff. Early supporters were left hanging for years, while more and more obligations were placed on them as it went through competing bureaucracies. It now costs more to hire a Pacific worker than an Australian casual, and you are responsible for guaranteeing work hours, flights and Pastoral care. Still worth it for some large firms (Australians who want hard work on farms are a dwindling breed), but not the small guys any more. The answer to abuses is not more legislation or redefinition of public policy; it is application of the laws already in existence. God help us if someone starts more legislation - farmers might as well pack up now. The bad guys dodge the bullet, the good guys end up carrying another bureaucratic load. Camels and straws.
union propaganda. australians will soon be coming about to the reality there are >3 billion internet connected folks who are prepared to work a lot harder than them. good luck stopping those "digital" boats.
Well - I watched the programme. I was certainly not impressed with the reporting balance, and unions had a great deal of input. There was a little too much emotional sleight of hand at work - tears on camera rather than a closer examination of worker motivation. The slavery references and calls for a taskforce came from an MP. The fundamental question of why a workforce would accept a cut in pay to work for a labour contractor seems less about naivety in some cases, more about illegal workers, earning money and tax avoidance. No visa, no tax, cash-in-hand, under the radar. It was not clear whether the young European girls were being exploited (it seemed they were paid a few days later), short-changed and abused or just encountering a tough job. Asking a nineteen year old Brit about farm working conditions would make a little more sense if she had performed any such work in Europe or the UK. The daft thing is that the drama, hidden cameras and blacked-out number plates was more suited to investigation of a heavily-armed drug ring. Logic left the building when there was the suggestion that prostitutes were being brought in to service workers. Poorly-paid workers with no sleep and long hours would hardly be suitable revenue sources. A task force sounds sexy, but all it takes is a few coppers collecting plate numbers, tracking down house renters, and bureaucrats asking the hire firm details for the payslips. This continues to happen because most of the workers have their reasons to maintain a low profile, the farmers want an easier life, the supermarkets want cheap produce, the consumers persist in shopping on price, and the various levels of Government reward the superficially successful.
Good news at last.. Pacific Island workers are doing fine working here, getting the right pay. Farmer and workers all happy. Refer this weeks Landcare on ABC. Regards Errol 43
Bad News... Joe takes 32.5cents in the dollar of backpackers pay. What does this mean for Bundaberg? Not enough workers to pick the crops? Regards Errol 43
You can work from 14 years 9 months old. Been legal that way for decades. I wasn't 14/9 months when I got my first job, but I was close.
