Oil palm is one of the flagship
commodities currently on the rise due to the sharply increasing demand. The
government has issued various policies supporting the development of palm oil
industry to increase investment in the sector. The government’s great attention
to the sector has neglected the development of agriculture. This, in turn, has
marginalized people’s food farming with regard to access to capital,
facilities/infrastructure and production facilities.
The expansion of oil palm plantation in Indonesia currently has reached 14.5 million[1].
Trend expansion of oil palm plantations
now moving the
region of Sulawesi, Kalimantan
and Papua. A
number of local governments in
Indonesia have proposed about 20 million hectares
of land in their area oil palm expansion.
Expansive
growth of oil palm plantations is very high as compared to 1980 where the vast
oil palm plantations just 294.560 hectares. The growth of oil palm plantations
is not independent of the policy of non-oil exports early 1980 that the government
was encouraging the export of non-oil commodities including palm oil
The direct impact of
the presence of oil palm plantations is the rise
of employment. Employment in the plantation sector and the oil industry
generate a large enough number compared with
other industries. Beyond that, there are groups of people
who are directly or indirectly
dependent on oil palm plantations.
According to KADIN (Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry), oil palm plantations in
Indonesia has absorbed 21 million workers
either work directly or indirectly2.
Sawit Watch’s research showed that out of 10 million plantation
labor, mostly 70% of them, did not have job security. The
number of plantation workers will
be increased given the rapid pace
of expansion of oil especially in eastern Indonesia.They
did not have job certainty (they were contracted labor or casual labor). CPO production is
characterized by a tendency enactment
of hiring workers without job security. The
absence of assurance of this
work can be seen from
casual workers, home-based workers, contract
workers, employment engagement
are unclear and undocumented
workers.
There are two important
things related to the expansion of oil palm plantations. First, how the
marginalization of farmers because they become landless and forced to sell
their strength to the plantation. Second, the informalisation of labor, a
condition where the engagement of workers working without clear work, forced to
engage his family especially his wife and children have to work to pursue
employment targets, but the energy that they spend is not paid by the company.
From research
conducted by Sawit Watch revealed indications of forced labor workers in oil palm
plantations in Indonesia. Labour suffered mistreatment, low wages, high work
targets, fines, pressure and intimidation for establishing the union, lack of
working tools and personal protective equipment that is decent, the lack of
clean water and health facilities and the use of child labor. Conditions palm
plantation workers are compounded by the tendency of informalisation of labor
relations.
Informalisation
of labor relations on the one hand provides a great advantage for the
plantations but on the other hand eliminates guarantees job security for
workers. Informalisation of labor relations is finally getting discouraging
labor income for workers must provide their own work tools and personal
protective equipment, allocating expenses medical examination as a result of
the absence of formal working relationship with the plantation. The forms of
informalisation of labor relations can be seen from the use of casual workers,
contract workers, home-based workers and involving children and wives to work.
The amount of power the
plantation and the lack of state policy
in favor of workers putting workers in a position of helplessness. Various
forms of violation of the rights of workers show palm oil companies still view
as an object of exploitation of workers in order to generate maximum profits.
The practice of labor exploitation that occurred today in oil palm plantations,
similar to the practice of "Koeli Contract “ in the colonial times.
Plantation management applies a work and wage system
based on a forced labor system by imposing three bases (7-hour work, production
basis and estate size) as the basis of wage determination, which is all
determined unilaterally by the management. The imposition of the system makes
it difficult for labor to meet the work target. As a result, labor often get
unilateral sanctioned, which is converted into reduction of wage.
Plantation labor is different from urban industrial
labor, who are more open and enjoy access to information as well as high
horizontal and vertical social mobility. Plantation labor has many limitations.
They are the group with the lowest status in plantation communities, and has
nearly “closed” social mobility as they are relatively isolated (excluded from
the companies’ management structure and are separated from the civil society
organizations around them).
The identity of plantation labor is fragmented in a
subjective structure that makes it almost impossible for them to unite their
interests. This is due to the fact that the social reality of plantation labor
is influenced by their situational experience such as limited ”social room” to
discuss their social structures, as well as limited social capital such as
limited education, limited economy and the law that provide no protection of
their interests.
Violation of employer-employee relations
frequently happens in oil palm estates in North Sumatera. Long before Labor Law
13/2003 was enacted, contracted work was commonly practiced in oil palm
estates. Since 1970 there has been limitation of permanent labor recruitment and
optimization of casual labor. The strategy used by companies to maximize profit
is limiting permanent labor at management level, and maximizing casual labor at
field level.
In plantations, the use of workers without job
security is
a massive place in the work of spraying and fertilizing, and the majority are women.
Some plantations are
indicated to practice this pattern such as PT LNK at
North Sumatra, PT HMBP at Central Kalimantan, PT
SLM at Central
Kalimantan, PT HHM and
PT MM at East Kalimantan, PT
Mamuang at West Sulawesi3.
The heavy burden and work target labor has to face
often force them to involved their wife and children to help them at work. As
such, the wife’s or children’s wage and work risks are the responsibility of
the respective workers. On the other hand, “light” work such as spraying and
fertilizing often engages women and child labor with little care for the high
risk (contaminated by chemicals given lack of protective equipment). This means
that there is a discrimination against women and child labor, neglecting the
risk of chemical contamination. When not helping the husbands, wives usually
become casual labor, whose income is far lower than permanent workers.
In addition, after helping the husbands
with the work, wives still have to finish domestic chores and think hard how to
make ends meet with such low incomes. Thus, women play a double role inside and
outside their households while children are susceptible to non-fulfillment of
their basic needs. This is often exacerbated by the management, in that women
are susceptible to discrimination and sexual harassment by the plantation
foremen and their assistants.
Excluding labor relations, protection of the safety and health of
plantation workers felt inadequate. The use of toxic and hazardous materials in
the production process, weak law enforcement and lack of supervision, and lack
of protection of safety took place without any significant breakthrough in
improving the working conditions for workers. An important finding indicates
areas of work are most prone to the risk of accidents is labor harvester parts,
parts of pest spraying and fertilizing4.
Forms of workplace accidents in plantations, especially oil palm plantations are affected fronds and fruit for the harvester, exposed to gramoxone, glyphosate and inhalation of toxic pesticides, fungicides and insecticides, especially work related to spraying and fertilizer for workers exposed to muck. The work accident impact on the risk of limb defects such as nearsightedness or a blind eye to the sprayers, skin irritation and severe injuries for harvester. The lack of protection of the safety and health of plantation workers can be seen from the personal protective equipment that does not meet the standards, health facilities (clinic plantation) inadequate means of shuttle workers inadequate and bureaucratic health care procedures.
Forms of workplace accidents in plantations, especially oil palm plantations are affected fronds and fruit for the harvester, exposed to gramoxone, glyphosate and inhalation of toxic pesticides, fungicides and insecticides, especially work related to spraying and fertilizer for workers exposed to muck. The work accident impact on the risk of limb defects such as nearsightedness or a blind eye to the sprayers, skin irritation and severe injuries for harvester. The lack of protection of the safety and health of plantation workers can be seen from the personal protective equipment that does not meet the standards, health facilities (clinic plantation) inadequate means of shuttle workers inadequate and bureaucratic health care procedures.
Although Indonesia has ratified several ILO conventions, as
can be seen in Indonesia’s labor regulations, labor policies still do not
provide protection of labor’s basic rights such as job security, social
security, health insurance and work safety. The condition is best reflected in
outsourcing practices legalized in Law No. 13 on Labor, which does not improve
labor’s rights at all. Labor-related dispute settlement regulated in Law No. 4
of 2004 on Industrial Relations Dispute Settlement places labor in a weak
position with minimum state’s protection against the capital power. Similarly, the
RSPO’s Principle and Criteria, notably Principle 6 on labor, pays little
attention to labor as indicated by absence of RSPO’s adequate respond to its
members that violate the principle.
Informalisation of labor relations were marked by
massive casual workers, home-based workers, contract workers, employment
engagements vague, undocumented workers constitute a violation of the guarantee
of job security. Informalisation of labor raises the issue of worker
protection, not only in terms of protection of wages, but also job security,
health and other basic rights. Internaational
Labor Organizatio (ILO) defines these workers as workers
who are not protected socially. Informalisation of labor
relations should be discontinued. Informalisation of labor relations that has
perpetuated the practice of slavery in the oil palm plantation. The government
should ensure that all workers documented
in
accordance with the legislation.
[1] Sawit
Watch, 2015
3 Sawit watch
Investigation 2014-2015
4 Sawit Watch and Amnesty International in
2015 conducted research about the conditions of workers in the oil palm
plantation 2 oil palm plantations in Central Kalimantan. The study found two
women workers who suffered illnesses related to the respiratory tract and 3
women workers exposed to fluid Gramoxone and Glyphosate resulted in myopic eyes
and threatened the blind.
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