Horticulture

Seasonal workers in horticulture

Harvest is one of the busiest times on farms. It is important that seasonal workers understand their rights and responsibilities while at work, and how to stay safe while working in Victoria.

Seasonal workers in horticulture - What to expect

Seasonal workers in horticulture - Looking after yourself

Seasonal workers in horticulture - Staying safe

Farmer stories

As part of our 'It's never you, until it is' campaign, third-generation Werribee farmer Catherine Velisha shares how Velisha Farms inducts their multicultural workforce and ensures everyone knows how to stay safe at work.

Agriculture: Vegetable growing

These are the most common injuries and hazards for people working in the vegetable growing industry (excluding mushroom growing), as shown by injury claims.

Hazards

Hazard 1
Manual handling (eg lifting produce buckets loading trays pushing and pulling trolleys pruning)
When designing work flow and processes consider the layout of the workplace (eg packing sheds).

Provide appropriate mechanical aids and equipment to control the risks associated with manual handling (eg trolleys, forklifts, pallet trolleys).

Ensure mechanical aids and equipment are used and maintained in accordance with manufacturer specifications.

Order products in smaller sizes (eg 20kg bags instead of 40kg bags). When handling larger sizes, only use mechanical aids and equipment.

Provide surfaces and paths to promote use of mechanical aids (eg trolleys). Use surfaces that allow minimal friction for sliding trolleys.

Train employees to safely use any mechanical aids and equipment, and on safe handling methods (eg work is done between shoulder and mid-thigh height with the elbows close to the body).

Work should be undertaken at a comfortable and realistically sustainable pace (eg when sorting, grading and processing produce).

Provide rest periods and/or job rotations where appropriate.
Hazard 2
Noise
Ensure employees are not exposed to noise that exceeds the exposure standard.

Arrange for a noise assessment if employees are exposed to noise and if there is uncertainty as to whether employees exposure may have exceeded the noise exposure standard.

Eliminate or minimise the source of noise (eg enclose or isolate noisy machinery, reduce vibration, use barriers to absorb and screens to block the direct path of sound, use silencers on air exhausts, exhaust pneumatics out of the area, select tools / machinery that do not exceed the noise exposure standard).

Place warning signs in noisy areas where hearing protectors must be worn to alert employees of the risk of exposure.

Ensure nearby workers are warned that noisy work will be undertaken and advise them to move away or wear hearing protection.

Provide hearing protectors and ensure they are worn.

Employers should provide a choice of different types of hearing protection appropriate to the noise level in the workplace.
Hazard 3
Using tools and equipment
Provide appropriate tools and equipment (eg knives, secateurs) and ensure they are used and maintained in accordance with manufacturer specifications.

Ensure all tools and equipment are fit for purpose.

Train employees on how to safely use any aids and mechanical equipment (eg how to correctly use, sharpen, and maintain knives).

Provide appropriate personal protective equipment (eg gloves for handling plants with thorns and prickles).
Hazard 4
Using tractors and other plant
Provide appropriate powered plant (eg tractors and attachments such as seed drills, post hole diggers, harvesters, rotary hoes) and ensure they are used, inspected and maintained in accordance with manufacturer specifications.

Ensure tractors, and where appropriate other mobile plant, are fitted with roll-over protection structures (ROPs) and seatbelts.

Ensure vehicles used are in good working order and fit for purpose having regard to loads, attachments, and terrain.

Guard all moving machinery parts on equipment such as the tractor power take off (PTO) and post hole diggers.

Guard entire length of PTO and couplings, and ensure guards are secured at all times.

Ensure PTO cover is in good working order, fitted correctly and chained to prevent it turning with the PTO.

Train employees how to safely use plant (eg never get on or off a moving vehicle, always use three points of contact and hand holds when climbing into or out of a tractor, check ground surface before exiting high vehicles, avoid jumping down from heights, never start a tractor while outside the vehicle, ensure attachments are secure and cannot fall when detached from vehicle).

Ensure employees remove all jewellery, tie long hair back, and wear appropriate clothing with no loose straps.
Hazard 5
Wet slippery and uneven ground
Install non slip floors (eg grooved concrete floors).

Ensure floor surfaces in work areas are well-drained and kept clear of clutter and obstructions.

Make sure a system for cleaning spillages is in place and that it is followed. Clean up spills immediately.

Ensure employees do not jump from vehicles, ladders or other high surfaces.

Ensure employees wear appropriate footwear (eg robust, non-slip).

'If you are injured at work' poster

Employers must display an 'if you are injured at work' poster in every workplace. You can download and print a poster in English as well as Arabic, Chinese simplified, Chinese traditional, Greek, Italian, Macedonian, Serbian, Spanish, Turkish and Vietnamese.

Download a poster

Seasonal workers in horticulture

Farmer stories

Agriculture: Vegetable growing

Hazards

Manual handling (eg lifting produce buckets loading trays pushing and pulling trolleys pruning)

Noise

Using tools and equipment

Using tractors and other plant

Wet slippery and uneven ground

'If you are injured at work' poster

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