Why I lasted just five weeks working in the apple industry

I recently moved out to regional Victoria with my wife and child. We wanted to flee the rat race and get a house that didn’t cost an arm and a leg and a kidney .At first, we found our new area peaceful, beautiful. The tree change was everything we’d hoped for.

On the orchard were contractors provided by agencies - mainly Thais, Malaysians and Cambodians, many of whom had experience. There were also Europeans, mainly French, fulfilling their 88-day quota so they could get a one-year visa extension. The few Australians I spoke to had been placed there via Centrelink.

The backward attitudes alarmed me. "Don’t make friends with them," I was told by my foreman . "Don’t talk to them", "Don't be nice to them". He spread schoolyard myths about Thais eating dog food and leaving cat carcasses in their bins. Threats and intimidation were also the norm. One foreman referred to employees as "retards" while another threatened a group that he would "kill someone today".

The wine industry is probably only marginally better, but obviously relies heavily on itinerant workers picking fruit. Un-remunerated overtime being expected of everyone in the vineyard and cellar regardless.

Consumers drive demand,which in turn retailers supply to.The best apples are smaller and don't match supermarket sizing demands,perhaps a combination of adjusted consumer expectation and fairer pricing would assist with this challenge.

Bullying, racism, homophobia in Australia!? Say it ain't so!

No mention of racism?

Some of these places are no better than some of the working conditions I have witnessed in third world countries, never mind the disgraceful treatment of other human beings. These places need to be investigated and changes made, but I reckon not much will be done.

Is that a boast, or admission of defeat?

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