A recent ruling by the Fair Work Commission means the minimum wage for workers will be $25.41 per hour. Agriculture Minister David Littleproud says increased costs from the newly-announced minimum wage for fruit pickers are expected not to be incurred by farmers, but rather to “appear at the checkout.”
“We respect the independent umpire; what they’ve done is they’ve kept the piece work arrangements but put in place, overlaying that, a minimum wage, so they haven’t removed the piece work which is very important,” Littleproud stated. He said the commission has tried to “strike the right balance.”
“If there are increased costs, we would expect that the supermarkets don’t try and make farmers absorb this as they have in the past.”
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