By JESSE GRAHAM
FAIR Work Australia has issued a stern warning to Yarra Valley strawberry growers after two farms were found underpaying their workers by thousands of dollars.
The Fair Work Ombudsman announced last week that unannounced visits to six Yarra Valley strawberry farms found that 11 employers had not been fulfilling their requirements to employees.
Ombudsman Natalie James said that two employers had collectively underpaid 22 workers around $6000, while four had not kept proper records or issued pay-slips correctly.
Out of the 11 employers, six were growers and five were contractors operating across the six farms.
She said the underpayment occurred when one grower paid contractors a fee-per-worker roughly $2 an hour less than the minimum wage.
“The labour fee paid by the grower was clearly insufficient to enable the contractor to pass on the correct wages and entitlements to employees,” Ms James said.
The grower was made to back-pay $5746 to the 20 workers affected by the underpayment, and both employers were issued with letters of caution.
Ms James said that other issues included pay-slips not being issued within one day of wages being paid, piece rates being paid without written agreements in place and Fair Work Information Statements not being provided to new workers.
Three of the employers were issued with letters of caution for record-keeping breaches, and one contractor remains under investigation, with the Ombudsman suspecting employee underpayments.
Ms James said that some employers were not paying enough attention to their obligations to employees under federal law.
“A lack of awareness of workplace laws can easily result in inadvertent underpayments or record-keeping obligations being overlooked, as has occurred here,” she said.
However, she said she was pleased that all businesses involved agreed to rectify the breaches.
In coming years, the Fair Work Ombudsman plans to visit fruit and vegetable farms throughout the country, focusing on the entitlements for seasonal workers, and will be re-visiting inspected areas to ensure they comply with the laws.
For more information, visit www.facebook.com/fairwork.gov.au.
