Itinerant Foreign Harvest Workers in Australia: the Impact of Precarious Employment on Occupational Safety and Health

Horticulture work in many high-income economies is increasingly performed by temporary migrant workers from low-wage economies. In Australia, such work is now performed predominantly by international backpackers - young well-educated workers with mostly sound English language skills. These workers are drawn to harvesting work by a government scheme that provides an incentive for completing a specified number of days work in horticulture. This paper examines the health and safety experience of these workers, through focus groups, interviews and an online survey. Notwithstanding their distinctive backgrounds, the harvesting experience of these temporary migrant workers is similar to that of low-skilled migrants working in other high-income countries. Health and safety risks associated with work organisation and payment systems, and a lack of compliance with occupational safety and health legal requirements, are commonplace, but potentially compounded by a sense of invincibility among these young travellers. Furthermore, a growing pool of undocumented workers is placing downward pressures on their employment conditions. The vulnerability associated with work and earnings uncertainty, and the harsh environment in which harvesting work occurs, remains a constant, notwithstanding the background of these workers.