This update has been provided by AUSVEG National Public Affairs Manager Tyson Cattle.

There’s been plenty of discussion about labour hire to start 2019.

With a Federal Election looming in May, both sides of government are expected to deliver a National Labour Hire Licensing Scheme.

This is something which AUSVEG has been advocating for, alongside others in the industry: to have one combined national scheme, instead of individual state schemes.

As a grower, there are multiple hoops and hurdles in which you currently need to go through to be able to sell your product to certain markets.

Whether it’s the Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit (SMETA), Growcom’s Fair Farms, or GLOBALG.A.P., these systems all play their roles in ensuring growers are producing and sourcing product responsibly, ethically and safely to deliver to consumers.

Some would argue a missing piece in that supply chain are the labour hire companies.

New requirements under Woolworths’ Responsible Sourcing Standards

AUSVEG has had a few questions in recent weeks in regards to the Woolworths Group addendum to its Responsible Sourcing Standards.

As covered in Woolworths’ FAQ on these new requirements, the additional standards ask suppliers to ensure any labour hire provider they use meets one of the following three criteria:

  1. The labour hire provider is legally registered under relevant State or any future Federal legislation related to labour hire registration (as is already in place in Queensland); OR
  2. The labour hire provider is an Approved Employer on the Australian Government’s Seasonal Worker Programme; OR
  3. The labour hire provider is certified via a third-party scheme approved by Woolworths, currently StaffSure.

The first criterion is already required by law in Queensland – a labour hire business cannot operate in the state without being registered. The second part of that criterion is not currently relevant, but as mentioned above, both sides of Federal Government are very likely to implement a programme in the future. AUSVEG has already been involved in this process to ensure that any incoming programme doesn’t encumber growers.

The second criterion is also already required by law if the labour hire business is accessing workers via the Seasonal Worker Programme.

The third criterion is for a labour hire business to be StaffSure Certified.

StaffSure is a workforce service provider certification programme which was developed by the Recruiting, Consulting and Staffing Association of Australia And New Zealand (RCSA).

RCSA began developing the certification three years ago in consultation with industry, and it has now been fully operational for 12 months. While it may be a new name to growers, it should not be a new name to your labour hire provider.

To gain StaffSure certification requires the labour hire business to go through a one-day audit performed by global auditors SGS, which covers areas such as labour age, wages, working hours, health and safety and financial assurance.

This cost of the certification starts from $1,600 to the labour hire business – not the grower.

The bottom line

The only thing a Woolworths supplier needs to do at this stage is ask its labour hire provider whether they meet one of the three criteria listed above.

That gives greater confidence to Woolworths, and should give greater confidence to the grower that the workers they have on their property are being treated fairly and honestly.

With the potential for a national labour hire licensing scheme to come into effect sometime in the next Federal term, and increased pressure from consumers who want responsible sourcing of produce, it would be a question well worth asking.

If you would like to discuss labour hire licensing or labour issues you are having on your farm, please contact Tyson Cattle at tyson.cattle@ausveg.com.au.

This post appeared in the AUSVEG Weekly Update published 19 February 2019. Subscribe to the Update using our online form to receive the latest industry news in your inbox every week!