Case Explained: Labour Hire Authority links worker exploitation in the Yarra Valley to organised crime – Legal Perspective

Victoria’s Labour Hire Licensing Commissioner, Steve Dargavel, has taken aim at dodgy labour-hire companies in Victoria’s lush Yarra Valley and the fruitgrowers who use them, indicating some have links to organised crime.

Last year, the Fair Work Ombudsman identified the Yarra Valley as one of the worst regions in the country for worker exploitation and underpayment.

An increased focus on compliance by authorities has led to new legal action against an apple orchard and a labour-hire company for alleged licence fraud and unlicensed operations.

Sanders Apples, Dombin Workforce and its director, Bintari Endang Purwati, face fines of up to $650,000 per breach, which could top a total of $19.5 million.

“A lot of the people who are being ripped off by these dodgy labour-hire providers are people who are quite vulnerable,” Mr Dargavel said.

Behaviour would make ‘construction figures blush’

A report by the Fair Work Ombudsman into workplace compliance in the horticulture industry released last year found the Yarra Valley and the Mornington Peninsula had the most breaches.

It revealed 83 per cent of employers failed to meet their obligations under the Fair Work Act and 100 per cent of labour hire firms also breached Australian laws.

Mr Dargavel said he was also concerned about organised crime in the Yarra Valley.

“The amount of avoidant behaviour in the horticultural industry would make some construction figures blush,” he said, in reference to alleged misconduct within the CFMEU.

“We’re encouraging the industry to avoid engaging with essentially very bad people,” he said.

‘Vulnerable’ workers

Under Victorian law, labour hire businesses require a licence to supply staff to work on horticulture farms.

But Mr Dargavel said unlicensed operators were targeting and exploiting people who were most at risk.

“It is often people with temporary migrant work rights who are too scared to speak up and often don’t speak up,” he said.

“They’re vulnerable for this sort of exploitation.”

A compliance operation run by the Labour Hire Authority in the Yarra Valley last month revealed evidence of labour hire licence fraud.

“I mean, the lowest rung of the award rate of pay is at or below the poverty line.”

The case against Sanders Apples, Dombin Workforce and its director Bintari Endang Purwati will be heard in the Supreme Court of Victoria on a date to be set.

Authorities have their work ‘cut out’

The Fair Work Ombudsman, Anna Booth and Mr Dargaval met with growers, industry groups and labour hire companies in the Yarra Valley yesterday.

“As you would expect, the people who come to a meeting like this have good intentions,” Ms Booth said.

But she said more needed to be done.

“Many people said that they wanted to see growers and labour-hire entities work more collaboratively together to make sure that the awards and other national employment standards were met,” Ms Booth said.

Mr Dargaval agreed many in the industry wanted to see improvements.

“There is a significant problem in the horticultural industry, but there are also people in the industry that are committed to see it cleaned up,” he said.

“But certainly regulators like the Fair Work Ombudsman and the [Labour Hire] authority have their work cut out,” he said.