‘Basically slavery’: Tearful farmer slams major supermarkets over pay

As the drought continues, it’s no secret that Australia’s farmers are struggling, while fundraising efforts continue as people try to give them a helping hand through the difficult dry period.

However one New South Wales farmer has spoken out about the reality of life as a dairy farmer at the moment, personally addressing supermarket giants Coles, Woolworths, Aldi and IGA in a shocking rant.

Shane Hickey shared the two minute video clip on Facebook, thanking the supermarkets for allegedly paying him a wage so low to produce milk that he compared it so “slavery”, claiming he earns less than $2.50 per hour for the manual work.

Read more: John Farnham to headline special concert for farmers in need.

“As a dairy farmer I would personally thank everybody for supporting us all. But I would like to do a personal shout out to our supermarkets, Woolworths, Coles, Aldi and IGA,” he said.

“I just received my milk cheque for this month. I’m a proud dairy farmer, I work very hard, but i’d like to say that I worked this month gone, July, I worked for $2.46 an hour.

“Something’s gotta change, you can’t keep this sh** up, people can’t expect farmers to continually work for nothing. That’s basically slavery, $2.46, Jesus!”

Read more: Glutton for punishment! Outspoken comedian ‘slams farmers in new tirade’.

Hickey’s video has been viewed more than one million times and shared by more than 30,000 people since it was posted on Tuesday. More than 2,000 people left comments of support on the video, with many pledging to boycott the supermarket’s own brands of milk, and buy farmer’s milk instead.

One supporter wrote: “My heart goes out to you. You don’t deserve to be treated this way. There is so much greed in this world. I just paid out my whole fort nightly income for just 2 days work to get some plumbing sorted.”

“The government needs to step up and pull these big food retailers into line,” wrote another.

While one said: “Why would coles or woolies do this they have farmers pinned while making amazing profits.” (sic)

A spokesperson for Woolworths told Daily Mail Australia: “We know there are many Australian farmers doing it tough with the drought and that’s why we’ve been working closely with Rural Aid to ensure more support can be provided to those impacted.”

Earlier this week it was announced that ‘The Voice’ John Farnham, 69, would headline a special concert, held in support of farmers across Australia who have been devastated by the drought plaguing the country.

Hay Mate: Buy a Bale – A Concert For The Farmers is set to take place at Scully Park in Tamworth on October 27, according to The Sunday Telegraph.

Money is expected to help the farmers most in need through the Rural Aid charity.

What are your thoughts on this story? Do you have a message of support for Aussie farmers?