The Transport and General Workers Union is reportedly preparing to fight government plans to increase the number of foreign farm workers.

The policy commission on food and farming, which published a report last week, recommended an increase in the quota of foriegn students employed as fruit and vegetable pickers to 50,000 from the current number of 15,000, due to a shortage of manual labour.

However, the union has expressed concern that students could be exploited as cheap labour.