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Horticulture workers to get pay rises
30 Jun 2003
Close to 10,000 fruit and vegetable employees in Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and New South Wales have won pay rises of up to $90 a week. The rise is expected to flow on to Australia's 20,000 fruitpickers during the next harvest season.
Most horticulture workers are casuals who store, pack and process fruit and vegetables. The majority are concentrated in the Sunraysia district, the Goulburn Valley, Avenel and Lyndhurst. The pay rise will lift loadings from 17.5 per cent to 25 per cent, granted over three instalments of 2.5 per cent. The first instalment will give workers a weekly increase of about $30, from July. The Australian Workers' Union says it's the highest pay rise for horticulture workers in decades and said the deal came about because of a co-operative relationship between the union and the National Farmers' Federation.
The deal also allows casual employees to go to full-time or part-time employment after 12 months of continuous service, and minimum daily working hours have been extended from two to three hours.
The Age, 30/6/03.
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