DistantNews
Support us
🇦🇺 Australia /Culture & Society

The vulnerable workers bearing the cost of providing Australia with cheap food

From ABC Australia · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources Context piece
  • Migrant workers in Australia, like Gershom Isaac, face exploitative conditions, including extremely low wages and poor housing, while picking fruit and vegetables.
  • Labour hire contractors often control workers' lives, dictating their work, pay, and living arrangements, leaving them with little power and earning less than the minimum wage.
  • An investigation into Australia's horticulture industry revealed widespread issues of worker exploitation, food fraud, and misleading claims, with concerns also raised about products originating from regions linked to forced labor.

Gershom Isaac describes days where he feels suicidal, working up to 12 hours picking fruit and vegetables in extreme heat, often earning less than $7 an hour. He returns to overcrowded, squalid accommodation, trapped in a relentless cycle that leaves him exhausted and hopeless. Isaac came to Australia from Papua New Guinea seeking opportunity but instead found himself controlled by labor hire contractors who dictate his work, pay, and future.

Even 40 degrees, you're still hanging there, picking oranges, trying to do as much as you can, and it's not easy. Sometimes you fall from those trees.

— Gershom IsaacDescribing the harsh working conditions.

Isaac's experience is not unique; he is one of tens of thousands of migrant workers living in the shadows of Australia's temporary migrant workforce, vulnerable to exploitation. He states, "Even 40 degrees, you're still hanging there, picking oranges, trying to do as much as you can, and it's not easy. Sometimes you fall from those trees." If he gets sick or injured, he doesn't get paid, and without work, he cannot afford to eat. "I don't have any voice. I don't have any power," Isaac says, explaining that contractors make all the decisions, and fruit pickers must comply.

This situation reflects a significant shift in Australian agriculture, where many growers now rely on labor hire contractors instead of employing workers directly. This reliance has fueled a booming labor hire industry, with contractors positioned between growers and workers, often managing recruitment, transportation, and housing. While some contractors operate legally, others prey on vulnerable migrant workers, paying them cash well below the minimum wage.

I don't have any voice. I don't have any power.

— Gershom IsaacExplaining his lack of control over his work and life.

An eight-month investigation by Four Corners examined the integrity of food products sold in Australia. It uncovered issues ranging from food fraud and misleading claims to worker exploitation and child labor. The investigation also identified tomato products originating from China's Xinjiang region, which has been linked to allegations of forced labor. This comes amid criticism from the Trump administration regarding Australia's effectiveness in preventing imports made with forced labor, a claim Prime Minister Anthony Albanese rejected, citing Australia's "robust" modern slavery laws.

Every choice is with the contractor. They're the ones who make all the decisions, and the fruit pickers have to say yes to everything.

— Gershom IsaacDetailing the power imbalance with labor hire contractors.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Australia. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

More Stories

From Our Blog