The sugarcane industry could soon have access to much-needed additional labour from countries such as East Timor, Kiribati, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu, as part of a small-scale 3-year trial announced by the federal government yesterday.
Canegrowers says moves to address labour shortages are critical to the $1.5-2 billion dollar export driven sugarcane industry. "The trial to start 1 July 2012 is a very welcome step towards plugging the gap left by the landslide of more than 500 skilled sugar industry employees who are lost to the resources sector annually," says Canegrowers CEO, Steve Greenwood.
"The sugarcane industry relies upon a workforce with a unique set of skills and abilities," says Greenwood. "Ours is primarily an export crop, with some 80% of Australia's sugar shipped onto the international market. The world's rapidly growing population is driving sugar prices higher, and Australia is looking to play a role in filling that demand.
"Increased area under cane is good for the Australian economy, but make no mistake, this needs to be matched by labour to get the crop off - it will not benefit anyone if it's left in the paddock."
Canegrowers welcomed the move by the federal government to address labour, and says it will work closely with them in the coming months to flesh out the detail. A process to determine demand and locations is under way, with the Australian Government saying it will now consult with each sector, on a regional basis. The program will be seasonally geared and will come under mutual contribution cost sharing arrangements, with employers to contribute to travel costs. It will place Australian job seekers first, and will facilitate the return of workers to an employer in subsequent years where possible. Seasonal workers taking part in the permanent program will be employed in accordance with Australian work standards.
Canegrowers believes it is an ideal time for the Queensland Government to step up its commitment in this area, and has suggested the state could dove-tail into work to deliver better outcomes for regional Queensland.
Greenwood says it's not just sugar finding it hard to compete on the jobs market, pointing to unemployment rates in most regional areas above those of the state average. "Canegrowers is gearing up its campaign on workforce retention and reskilling in preparation for the forthcoming state government election. The industry needs a serious commitment made to the development of an industry-specific workforce attraction, retention and skilling initiative." |
