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December 27, 2024 | 06:38 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Transnational Palm Oil Labour Solidarity (TPOLS) unveils six destructive characteristics of the palm oil industry. These characteristics are relevant with the collection of cases surrounding palm oil plantation workers throughout this year.
As laid out by TPOLS Coordinator Rizal Assalam, these characteristics include poor working conditions linked to low wages; gender-based exploitation and unsafe working conditions; flawed Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certification and manipulated audit; the expansion on palm oil plantations, plasma farms, and land conflicts; excessive use of force by authorities; and the lack of freedom of association and union busting.
According to Rizal, various structures likened to colonialism can still be found in palm oil plantations across Indonesia. “Like afdeling or komidel (afdeling commodity), which are still part of the daily life in the plantation communities. Despite being around for hundreds of years, the condition for workers in the palm oil industry is still far from ideal,” he said in an online press conference on Friday, December 27.
On the same occasion, Secretary General of the Confederation of Indonesian Trade Unions (KPBI), Damar Panca, said poor state regulations contributed to the absence of protection for palm oil workers. Additionally, the Job Creation Law exacerbated the exploitative practices in plantations.
“The Job Creation Law serves as a legal basis that justifies the recruitment of casual or seasonal workers with wages based on units of output and units of working days,” Damar explained.
International legal instruments also play a part in palm oil workers’ protection. According to Uli Arta Siagian from Walhi, the soon-to-be implemented European Union Regulation on Anti-Deforestation (EUDR) and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) raise questions about the impact and mechanism on labor protection.
Uli revealed that the TPOLS network meeting with representatives from the European Union in early December confirmed that international regulations need to have accessible justice for labor unions. “Labor protection under state regulations is ineffective if the regulation itself is not designed in favor of workers,” she said.
Sawit Watch representative Hotler Parsaoran also underscores the legal vacuum in Indonesia’s legal system regarding labor protection for palm oil plantation workers. According to Hotler, the current Labor Law does not represent palm oil workers due to their differences with manufacturing employees.
This can be seen from the much higher calorie requirements and the workloads, which are based on three targets: tonnage targets, land area targets, and working hour targets.
“Basic issues such as labor relations, OHS, sanitation, sufficient cleanwater, and health facilities are not properly provided by the [palm oil] companies,” he said.
Hotler said there have been efforts to push for the adoption of the Draft Law on the Protection of Palm Oil Plantation Workers. “There needs to be a fair transition in the palm oil industry, which targets exploitative production patterns,” he said.
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