Farm workers who appeared at inquiry allegedly threatened

Pacific Islanders hired to work on Australian farms under a federal government program have allegedly been threatened with dismissal and deportation after giving evidence about their working conditions before a parliamentary inquiry.

The claims were aired by Senate job security committee chair and Labor senator Tony Sheldon upon the release of a wide-ranging report, in which two Coalition senators recommended the scheme be altered to allow workers to change jobs easily to seek better pay and conditions.

The job security report, which also covers issues of underemployment and casualisation in the Australian workforce, as well as the effects of the gig economy, comes days after a landmark High Court decision cementing companies like Uber and Deliveroo’s reliance on the contractor model.

Senator Sheldon received an extension on the inquiry by the upper house on Thursday, according to a statement released by his office on Friday, to look into “allegations that temporary migrant workers had been threatened with dismissal and deportation by their employer” for giving evidence at the inquiry.

“After this hearing, the committee received correspondence alleging that a number of witnesses who appeared at the public hearing may have been disadvantaged by their employer on account of giving evidence to the committee,” the job security report reads.

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Sunny Ridge, a berry farm outside Melbourne where the labourers worked, said in a statement, the company “is not aware of any adverse or bullying treatment towards these workers”. Comment has been sought from the labour-hire organisation the workers were contracted to.

The inquiry heard evidence of low or fluctuating pay and poor sleeping and working conditions from temporary Pacific Island workers contracted under the government’s seasonal worker program.

Under the visa conditions, workers are tied to a single employer but can apply to move for a number of reasons including evidence of mistreatment or not receiving enough work. Nationals senator Matt Canavan likened this aspect of the program to “indentured labour”.