A new horticultural award is due to come into force at the start of next year, and it includes penalty rates for weekend work, plus overtime.

Top End horticulturist Peter Delis, who chairs the Australian Mango Industry Association, believes there must be transparent templates for enterprise bargaining agreements for the mango industry.

He says this system may buy growers four years' grace before the new provisions and their associated costs are imposed.

According to the North Queensland Chamber of Commerce and Industry, growers will face a new range of hourly rates, terms and conditions from January 1, 2010, when the new Federal Horticultural Award comes into force.

The new industrial relations regime is part of the Federal Government’s Award Modernisation program, the name given to a scheme to reduce the number and complexity of awards in Australia’s workplace system.

Fruit grower Tim Reid from Reid Fruits says if the higher labour costs are introduced, it will affect the employment prospects of the 25,000 people who regularly work in orchards across Australia.

He said the pay rate is already attractive enough for people to queue up for work.

"Some of our pickers on the current award rate pick six days a week and ten hours per day. They can earn $2500 a week picking fruit,” Mr Reid said.

"Those job opportunities are going to be restricted now. If we are going to have to pay penalty rates after 38 hours, we will not be able to employ them.”

Executive officer of the Northern Territory Horticultural Association, Kate Peake, says the new award will impose unrealistic costs on Territory mango growers.

She said that Association member who had worked through the figures have told her they are looking at an increase in the cost of harvest labour in the vicinity of 20 per cent."

Mr Delis told ABC rural radio that because the Australian Mango Industry Association is a national organization, industrial relations templates should be done on a region by region basis.

"We are waiting on more detail, but the overall idea is to try and get some of the costs down for growers,” he said.