Sunraysia Mallee Ethnic Communities Council in collaboration with La Trobe University’s Migration, Mobilities and Multiculturalism Research Cluster will host ‘Migration and Employment in Regional Victoria’ at the La Trobe University, Mildura Campus on Friday, August 13. A Zoom attendance is also available.
Over recent years the horticultural sector across Australia has been in the spotlight as a site of labour exploitation and other unlawful employment practices, and research has highlighted the contribution of migration (e.g. visas) regulation and the political economy of food retail to these problems. The Covid-19 pandemic disrupted the supply of migrant labour and highlighted farmers’ reliance on willing migrants to pick the fruit on Sunraysia’s farms and vineyards.
This symposium seeks to assess the current situation and work towards more sustainable and ethical economic growth of the region based on practice insights and research evidence, by bringing together stakeholders from business, local government, the community and academia.
The symposium aims to:
- Establish a conversation that links short term business interests in labour supply with long term perspectives on workers’ employment and settlement outcomes;
- Facilitate a dialogue between employers, workers and community;
- Contribute to policy discussion about sustainable economic growth in relation to labour migration.
The draft program:
9:15-10:10 Snapshot into work of regional coordinators
10:30-12:30 Labour supply, demand and working conditions in horticulture
1:30-3:00 Regulation of migration and migrant work in regional areas
3:20-4:50 Migration, work, and local community
Download a flyer for this event
