Backpackers outnumber seasonal workers by six to one in Australia’s agricultural sector, with more than 36,000 taking jobs, mainly in horticulture, each year. The seasonal worker program brings workers from nine Pacific countries and Timor-Leste into Australia to work in the horticulture industry, tied to an employer or a labour-hire company. Seasonal workers are similarly vulnerable because they are tied to employers, with limited independent avenue to complain against exploitation. The World Bank report said Australia should consider abolishing the backpackers’ specified work clause to “level the playing field”. “Australia’s seasonal worker program continues to deliver significant advantages, not just for Australian farmers, but for the workers, households and communities of participating Pacific Island countries,” the report said.

Source: The Guardian April 01, 2018 18:56 UTC