Agricultural workers doing it tough
Published on 26 March, 2003
Paid agricultural workers occupy the bottom income strata in Australia, according to a Central Queensland University rural sociologist.
Lecturer in sociology at CQU, Dr Jim McAllister said paid agricultural workers were among the “poorest of the poor” in Australia.
Dr McAllister made a presentation at the University last week disclosing some worrying facts about this under-researched sector of the Australian population. Dr McAllister’s research focused on paid agricultural employees, not owner-operator farmers nor farm employers.
As part of his research, Dr McAllister aimed to locate the places paid agricultural employees occupy in Australian society, both economically and geographically.
According to statistics from the 1996 census there are about 160,000 people in Australia who regard themselves as paid agricultural workers.
“One third of these agricultural workers earned less than an average of $300 a week (in 1996), making them some of the lowest income earners in the country,” Dr McAllister said.
“Their standard of living is generally low, matching their low income ... and, moreover, they often live on the fringes, as well.
“Agricultural workers often live in the second house on the farm property, in the rural village, on the outskirts of the regional cities, and in the outer suburbs of the metropolitan areas,” he said.
Dr McAllister said the drought had made life even more difficult for these workers, with many losing their jobs. Unlike owner-operators, paid workers are not eligible for drought relief.
“The Farmhand Foundation and the government funded drought relief packages available are not designed for the real farm hands.
Dr McAllister hopes to continue with further research on livelihoods and lifestyles of this category of Australian workers.
“From the new data available from the 2001 census I hope to conduct research on agricultural workers in the South Burnett and Central Highlands regions,” Mr McAllister said.
“The research will focus on how people make a life in and by paid agricultural employment.”