“I can’t do anything”. That’s the answer I’ve been hearing insistently when I question workers about the ridiculous exploitation on the farming business in Australia. They’re forced to follow abusive rosters, deprived of rest, treated with no standards and rewarded with a wage way below the national minimum salary. They need the job to stay in the country, farmers know, and I just hope the government remains in complete ignorance, at least is better than being conniving with that.
I moved to Australia about one year ago. Different than most of Brazilians I came to live in the “Sun Country” area, where the dairy farming is concentrated, as well as many crops production. It was a shock for me, who grew up and always worked in the largest city in Brazil, Sao Paulo. But more impressive was the little world I found over here, whether for being a very outdated place, in the matter of technology, or for the work condition I’ve seen so far.
Since I came, I’ve met four people whose stories drove me nuts. There was this Dutch guy, who came to Australia as a backpacker about three years ago. He worked six months for a dairy farm, over 10 hours a day, with days off he could count on one hand. His boss used to be a rude man, I bet still being, those kinds that are too focused on profits to worry about humanity. Some people would say that’s what business is about, right?
This same guy, close to give up on Australia, found his “saviour”, who offered a new opportunity to work as a dairy farmer, but in better conditions. A new Visa was in the game, so there was nothing but thankful he could do in the situation. The agreement was to work 40 hours a week for $ 55,000 a year. Not to bad, at first. Have you seen an eletrônico punch clock in a farm?
He has worked 20 days in a row, 12 hours per day, so, if we calculate how much he made per hour during this period, we will get close to half of the minimum hourly rate in Australia. But what can he do? Supervision is inoperative in this area, if it ever existed. His case is not exceptional, there are so many workers, some of them in conditions even more shameful. I met a French couple who had been tricked by a crop farmer and left the work place without the payment agreed. I had also a bad experience working for a tomato farm.
Young women being sexually abused, foreigns being treated with no dignity and working conditions that totally get out the Australian laws. The country I come from, there are all of the issues listed above, but I wouldn’t expect to find it in one of the best places to live in the world. Brazil deals with over 200 million people, but I can’t really understand how can this human rights violations take place in a country as Australia. I am not sure if inefficiency is the true reason.
