Tomato farm abuse unacceptable

A NEIGHBOUR to a Childers tomato farm is fed up with the treatment of farm employees saying she can hear supervisors screaming at the workers over the roar of the tractor.

Kathy Zarins has lived on Foleys Road for more than seven years and said she constantly finds exhausted backpackers on the side of the road trying to walk back to Bundaberg.

“It’s disgraceful, they just can’t take anymore so they leave,” Mrs Zarins said.

“They often come down my driveway asking which way to walk to get back to town.”

Mrs Zarins said she recently had five Asian travellers arrive on her doorstep asking how to get back to town.

“It was about 2pm when they came,” she said.

“They had been working since 5am and had not been allowed to have any water all day. It was such a hot day. I gave them some cold water and let them sit in the shade and then drove them back to Bundy. I couldn’t just let them go.”

Mrs Zarins said she was disgusted by the behaviour of the farmers and contractors allowing this to happen.

“I just can’t take it anymore,” she said.

“It’s terrible.”

Mrs Zarins said she had worked in the employment industry for many years and said farmers did not want to employ locals.

“About eight months ago, they sacked 50 locals as soon as they got them and replaced them with backpackers,” she said.

“It’s really shameful.”