Ag workers wanted as spring approaches
The state’s peak farming body says there are 100,000 fewer backpackers in the country than before COVID, putting real pressure on looming harvests. NSW Farmers Workplace Relations spokesman Chris Stillard said there was a shortage of labour across agriculture, and it was having a real impact on productivity. “Traditionally we’ve needed international workers to fill the gaps in seasonal work,” Mr Stillard said. “Jobs such as harvest, sowing, shearing by their very nature are seasonal, the jobs are short term and therefore attractive for a workforce that is transient and willing to travel. “But COVID threw a big spanner in the works, there were around 140,000 backpackers pre-pandemic, now there are only around 40,000 backpackers in the country.” Growers and agricultural supply chains were dealing with a range of issues that were being felt across the board, with crop losses due to flooding, and higher input costs, including the substantial minimum wage increase – the highest increase in one year in at least a decade. Mr Stillard said the farming sector had put forward a number of potential solutions, such as removing financial barriers for pensioners to participate in work, expedited approval of skilled worker visa applications and better coordination of workers movements to match harvest regions and timings. While the problem wasn’t new, he said, it had become more acute and needed decisive action. “There’s increasing market competition to attract labour – according to the latest ABS job vacancies release, there were 480,100 vacancies in Australia, more than double the pre-pandemic vacancies in February 2020,” Mr Stillard said. “At the height of COVID, we’ve heard of animals being turned away from abattoirs due to a lack of staff, we saw big disruptions in the major retailer food supply chains, it doesn’t just hit the farmers but also families who are feeling the pinch right now. “The labour shortage certainly isn’t the only factor in the price of food, but it’s not helping.”
Date: Tuesday, August 16, 2022
Media Contact: Steve Mudd | 0429 011 690 | mudds@nswfarmers.org.au