BITTER disappointment was the reaction from horticulture industry groups after the Australian Industrial Relations Commission issued its revised Horticulture Award late last week.
The new award effectively gives pieceworkers a 4.5 per cent pay increase, with no corresponding productivity gains for Victorian growers, according to a furious Fruit Growers Victoria general manager John Wilson.
"Growers get absolutely nothing for it, so growers lose out because they will not be able to pass it on to the consumer," he said.
Horticulture Australia Council chief executive Kris Newton said the changes meant growers would pay up to 40 per cent more for piecework.
