Organic Insights Magazine - Spring 2023

Organic Insights / Spring 2023 / 19

As reporting requirements within the Modern Slavery Act 2018 move further down the supply chain and consumers demand nothing but transparency from their product, the adoption and promotion of fair on-farm employment practices is becoming more important for producers, employers and suppliers. Consumer expectations for fair and ethical labour in the horticulture industry

of them and to provide a pathway to a Fair Farms Certification, which is utilised by Coles, Woolworths, IGA and Aldi to meet their ethical sourcing policies. SO, WHAT IS ‘MODERN SLAVERY’? The term ‘modern slavery’ covers situations of mistreatment, where a person cannot refuse or leave work due to threats, violence, coercion, deception, or abuse of power, and can include slavery, servitude, forced labour, debt bondage, and dishonest recruiting for labour or services. According to Australian Government Legislation, the Modern Slavery Act 2018 applies to modern slavery conduct that occurs in Australia and activity occurring overseas (which is reportable) if it may form part of your business supply chain. Fair Farms was established as a solution to the fair labour issues within the Australian horticulture industry – a pathway for our producers and suppliers to adhere to social compliance and provide evidence of their ethical labour practices through Fair Farms Certification. The Fair Farms Certification assists growers with social compliance while improving and promoting their fair work practices to employees, suppliers, and consumers. Industry examples include: • Fair Work Ombudsman fines farm employers more than $78,000 for breaching pay slips and record-keeping laws • Queensland labour-hire company faces court for alleged underpayment of 87 visa holders • Labour recruitment agencies confiscating the passports of migrant workers, forcing them to work and live in poor conditions. LEARN MORE… Learn more about the Fair Farms program and how you can become certified at fairfarms.com.au HOW FAIR FARMS IS CULTIVATING FAIR WORKING PRACTICES TO COMBAT THIS

We explore what the definition of Modern Slavery is, why an understanding of this is so important for said producers, employers and suppliers, and how the certification and training available through Growcom’s Fair Farms Program can best place them for compliancy requirements. GROWING CONSUMER AWARENESS AND EXPECTATIONS Consumers today are more cautious, knowledgeable, and interested in their food and its origins than ever. So much so that satisfying the customer’s call for paddock-to-plate transparency and fair labour practices should be of significant importance. According to the 2022 Australian Consumer Environment, Social & Governance Issues (ESG) Report (Food & Grocery) , one of the most important factors impacting brand perception is ‘taking care of supplier welfare’, with the report citing brands with stronger consumer ESG credentials grow faster than brands perceived with less. Other findings from the report include: • 9/10 consumers expect brands to act responsibly when it comes to society and the environment. • 1 in 4 consumers say they’ve changed brands based on perceptions of the brand’s ESG. Ultimately, consumers demand to know more about what they consume, the requirement of confidence that their food and products meet high ethical standards now commonplace. A certification from Fair Farms assists in establishing and nurturing this confidence between fair labour practices, a producer and their brand. Fair Farms is an industry-led, national training and certification program that now plays a crucial role in ensuring quality working and living conditions and fair pay for employees in the horticulture industry. It provides training for employers unfamiliar with the Modern Slavery Act and Fair Work Act , to better understand what’s required

SachinAyachit, Fair FarmsNational ProgramManager