Wages breaches found in dairy farm investigations

Federated Farmers says employment law issues in the dairy industry may get worse before they get better, but farmers are starting to get the message.
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A Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) sting exposed dairy farmers exploiting and short-changing staff, with 19 out of 29 farms inspected breaking the law.
A total shortfall of more than $120,000 in unpaid or below minimum wages and leave and holiday payments was uncovered.
While most of the violations related to poor record-keeping, several farms had significant minimum wage breaches.
The farms were specifically targeted based on a previous history of breaching employment laws, by location, or for employing vulnerable migrant workers.
Federated Farmers dairy industry group chairman Andrew Hoggard said there were likely to be some bad apples alongside the farmers who were simply ignorant of the law.
«Is the number they got indicative across the industry? I don’t think so, but we’ve still got a big problem we’ve got to address,» he said.
Hoggard said roadshows and education drives were underway and farmers were starting to talk about the issues more.
He said it was in their own interest to quickly turn things around so that they could avoid being burdened with further regulation.
However, previous sagas such as effluent compliance suggested it might take a while to solve the problem altogether.
«It always gets worse before it gets better. We are probably somewhere in that phase at the moment,» Hoggard said.
Council of Trade Unions president Helen Kelly said the dairy industry was «out of control» and not being held accountable.
She pointed to «shocking» job listings requiring gruelling 60-hour weeks, eight days between breaks, and pay that equated to less than the minimum wage, excluding accommodation benefits.
Kelly said it was no wonder 45 per cent of workers stayed for less than a year, and 85 per cent had moved on within five years.
«It’s a dead-end industry, and I wouldn’t recommend anybody work in it,» she said. «The Government should be thinking about it, because it’s such an important part of the New Zealand economy.»
Kelly called on the Government to regulate minimum wages in the industry as a health and safety issue, saying the good employer charters under development were no substitute for collective bargaining.
«They’re just running around filling in all the little gaps,» she said. «It’s a joke.»
The worst of the non-complying farmers caught in the sting could face face $10,000 fines individually or $20,000 for companies.
The incoming Employment Standards Bill to be introduced to Parliament this year will beef up the range of the penalties substantially, but only for the worst cases of exploitation.
Of the 16 farms visited that hired migrant employee, two wage breaches were discovered.
Dennis Maga, coordinator of the Union Network of Migrants, said migrant dairy workers had reported complaints ranging right up to physical and sexual abuse.
Many did not want to «rock the boat» and felt they owed their employers a debt of gratitude.
«They are heavily relying on the support of their employer to renew their visa every year,» he said.
Maga called for more investigation action, and said the Government should also consider banning employers with a tarnished record from employing foreign workers again.
MBIE’s Labour Inspectorate central regional manager Natalie Gardiner said the level of non-compliance identified during the operation was «extremely high».
Nine of the more serious cases were being considered for filing with the Employment Relations Authority, she said.
DairyNZ’s strategy and investment leader for people and business, Mark Paine, said the ministry’s campaign was a «stern reminder» that there was still a way to go.
«That’s disappointing because we’ve been doing a lot of work with our farmers in this area,» he said.
He said many farmers were making progress and the dairy industry had made it a high priority to ensure that farm staff experienced a supportive work environment.
Paine said farmers had to step up and get it right with advice, information, tools and resources available from the industry body to support them.
 

 Source: Stuff

 

Mirá También

Así lo expresó Domingo Possetto, secretario de la seccional Rafaela, quien además, afirmó que a los productores «habitualmente los ignoran los gobiernos». Además, reconoció la labor de los empresarios de las firmas locales y aseguró que están «esperanzados» con la negociación entre SanCor y Adecoagro.

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