Goulburn Valley fruit growers remain cautious about changes to the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme which were announced on May 9.
Under the new changes, producers are required to provide at least 30 hours of work and a $200 minimum wage per week to workers regardless of how many hours were required.
Growers have criticised the changes due to the impact they would have on fruit that cannot be picked in wet weather.
The scheme’s starting date has been moved from October 1 this year to July 1, 2024.
Fruit Growers Victoria grower services manager Michael Crisera said the impact of the changes were a case of “let’s see how it goes”.
“In some cases in the past there was no picking for up to three weeks due to wet weather,” Mr Crisera said.
“But they have given us a bit of grace until July next year to prepare.”
Some growers have suggested averaging the hours worked on orchards to meet the minimum requirement.
“Time in lieu could also be a way around it,” Mr Crisera said.
“We can pay them for the 30 hours and then say it is time in lieu and then have them make up the rest when more picking is required.
“I think a lot of the workers would do it.
“The issue is that growers will need an agreement in place and that’s where our businesses need to be better at things, to actually stick to an agreement.”
The PALM scheme is considered ineffective for smaller growers who may not have sufficient picking and crop thinning work.
“A larger farm can use the packaging shed to get the hours up, but smaller ones don’t have that option,” Mr Crisera said.
He praised the productivity of PALM workers and said that returning workers to the same farm in successive seasons was attractive for growers.
“They get familiar with a farm and that’s the key because with a contractor you could get a different picker each day,” he said.
MJ Hall and Sons operations manager Sam Boyce agreed that employing the same pickers each year was successful.
Mr Boyce has been employing PALM workers for 12 years and in most cases has them living on site, arriving in November each year.
“I latched onto a crew that my father used for several years as my season was his off-season,” Mr Boyce said.
“We can share them between farms so at this point the advantages outweigh giving up on the scheme but success will be all about our operation in how to manage through the changes.”
Two of Mr Boyce’s PALM workers received the Fruit Grover Victoria Picker of the Month award on February 27.
Mr Boyce returned from Vanuatu last month where he visited his pickers at their homes.
“The PALM scheme works for us but for me it needs to work in both directions.
“I like to get over there and catch up with my workers because it has to be a two-way street.”