Ecuadorian backpacker Yhovany Torres was in search of income and a new adventure when he decided to pack up and move to the remote Queensland town of Ayr, in search for more opportunities.
He first set foot in the sugar town - with a population of just over 8,300 - with a friend in the Spring of 2019, as they had been told there was work available.
They were surprised by what they saw.
“Just when we got to the town, we saw that there were no people, it looked like a ghost town. The first day was hard because I did what is most difficult for me — picking cucumbers. You end up with back pain,” Yhovany recalls.
But as the pandemic continues to wreak havoc in many city dwellers' back pockets, Yhovany may soon see more people like him making a similar move. This would be a welcome relief for the struggling farming sector.
Ecuadorian Yhovany Torres decided to work in Ayr. Source: Yhovany Torres
Highlights:
- This year there are almost 37 per cent fewer people on temporary working visas in Australia.
- In the face of the COVID-19 crisis, more Hispanics have found themselves working on Australian farms to make ends meet.
- Backpackers who work in regional areas not only help Australian farms, but also other industries that derive direct economic benefits from the arrival of temporary workers.
Yhovany's days are hard. He works from 5am to 2pm, but enjoys short breaks in a shared house with other backpackers.
“The first week we had to get up very early and we were out in the sun for many hours,” says the 28-year-old temporary migrant, who came to Australia under the Working Holiday Maker program.
The sun and the heat also make the work exhausting and pose serious dehydration risks.
Backpackers working the fields are advised to take the necessary precautions to avoid falling victim to the heat.
Yhovany Torres enjoying the company of kangaroos. Source: Yhovany Torres
In September, the average temperature in Ayr is around 23 degrees, although the mercury can rise to 27 degrees.
On the farms, the workers must complete induction courses on industrial safety and occupational health, according to Colombian Marco Aurelio Amaya Camargo, an agronomist from the Rocky Ponds Produce plantation in Queensland.
Workers are required to wear a wide-brimmed hat, shirts with preferably long sleeves, and must carry a 2.5-litre bottle of water, Camargo explains. He works more than 400 kilometres from the city of Cairns.
Although all fruit picking is demanding, there are distinct pay differences between collecting cucumbers, squash, chillies, or other fruits.
It all depends on the machinery that’s used and the method in which the activity is carried out.
Yhovany Torres with the team of fruit and vege pickers. Source: Yhovany Torres
“You get paid depending on the crop. For example, cucumbers and peppers are normally paid by the hour, while chillies are paid by the amount you collect. If you are a very fast person, you could make much more,” Yhovany explains.
He recalls that on his first day of work he picked cucumbers, a task he says is most taxing.
"Your back suffers a lot," he says. Yhovany now prefers to pick chillies and be paid by the piece and not by the hour.
“Per hour I would get around $20.7, and by weight the equivalent of $30 an hour, so the second option is more attractive.”
He says if the worker is very fast, they can earn up to $45 an hour, although many ambitious backpackers risk dehydration and go without eating during their eight-hour shifts to try to make more money.
But earnings also depend on the contractor, who mediates between the worker and the employer.
Yhovany says he is owed money for work already completed, and even complained to the Fair Work employment regulator, but was told he couldn’t do anything because the contractor who allegedly scammed him left the country.
COVID-19 is pushing more Hispanics to Australia's regions
The Working Holiday visa (subclass 417) and the Work and Holiday visa (subclass 462) permit holders are allowed a 12-month stay in Australia, during which they can undertake short-term work and studies.
Those who decide to work on Australian farms are usually young people from Japan, China, Thailand, the Philippines, Spain, Germany and other parts of Europe. But this year, the pandemic crisis has changed the profile of the backpacker working in this sector.
But many Hispanic temporary visa holders have now opted to pick fruit and vegetables to make a living, as the COVID crisis dried up work in hospitality.
“A larger group of Latinos have moved, as they could not work in the hospitality industry and came here,” Camargo says.
The agronomist emphasises that backpackers are a key part of the Australian farming sector. Extra hands are always needed when harvesting fruit, even though most companies have a base team of workers.
“In general, backpackers are the ones who do the harvest or plant the small plants in the field.
“They do the weeding, and they also pack the fruit, depending on the farm.”
Crisis due to COVID-19 and closing of borders
The declining number of people in the Working Holiday Maker program, the closing of international borders and the slow reopening of interstate borders, have left the farming sector in crisis.
But while border closures have forced backpackers to stay in one place, their reopening could encourage them to move, creating a larger gap in the supply of farm labour which can be especially significant given the harvest season coming up.
“You can see that the backpackers who were with us already want to go out. They already worked and want their holidays, even within Queensland,” Camargo says.
“They are already starting to leave and not so many are coming in, they are leaving because they have completed their cycle.”
As of June 30, there were 85,691 people with a visa under this scheme, almost 37 per cent less compared to the same period last year, according to the Department of Home Affairs.
