Ensuring the Future with Equitable Regulations

It is believed that the formation of regulations that guarantee the rights of oil palm plantation workers will be able to bring fresh air to the conditions of oil palm plantation workers in the country. The regulation is expected to be one of the solutions.

The following article was translated using both Microsoft Azure Open AI and Google Translation AI.

KOMPAS/FERGANATA INDRA RIATMOKO

Pintauli Manurung and her son, Esron Simbolon, were cleaning wild plants in their oil palm plantation located in Nagari Pengkolan, Bosar Maligas District, Simalungun, North Sumatra, on Monday (12/03/2018).

The Palm Oil Workers Coalition, in collaboration with several nonprofit organizations, is drafting the Palm Oil Workers Protection Bill. The formation of this regulation is expected to guarantee the specific rights of palm oil workers.

One of the institutions that intensively discussed the draft of the Oil Palm Worker Protection Bill (RUU Perlindungan Buruh Sawit) is the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (Elsam). The Manager of the Law and Sustainability Governance Program at Elsam, M. Busyrol Fuad, when contacted from Jakarta on Friday (28/7/2023), said that the Oil Palm Worker Protection Bill is a bill that was initiated and prepared by the Oil Palm Workers Coalition (Koalisi Buruh Sawit/KBS).

The bill was born out of concern over the highly complex issues surrounding the palm oil plantation industry, such as deforestation and forest logging. From a legal regulatory standpoint, there are already several regulations related to the plantation sector listed in the Employment Law and the Labor Union Law. However, these existing laws are considered insufficient in addressing the intricate problems faced by palm oil workers.

"The Employment Law, which serves as the legal basis for protecting labor, has not been optimal in providing protection for workers. The characteristics of palm plantations require workers to have significantly higher calorie intake, for example, due to the unlimited workload. This issue has made palm workers realize that their struggle is not only limited to actions in the field, but also requires a more advanced step in formulating the law," he said.

As a result, if the Palm Oil Workers Protection Bill is enacted, it will strengthen the rights of palm oil workers, such as guaranteeing their right to associate, assemble, and organize. Cases of union busting among palm oil workers are still rampant. Therefore, protective regulations are mandatory.

KOMPAS/FERGANATA INDRA RIATMOKO

A stretch of oil palm plantations in the Nagari Pengkolan area, Bosar Maligas District, Simalungun, North Sumatra, Monday (12/3/2018).

The journey of the draft bill has taken quite some time. The draft was jointly formulated with the Ministry of Manpower since 2020. The academic manuscript and draft have been completed since 2022. The substance of the draft bill mostly focuses on protecting the rights of palm oil workers, starting from the recruitment system, wages, work safety, freedom of association and assembly, to forms of termination of employment.

"If this bill is passed, of course it will guarantee protection for palm oil workers, including their civil and political rights to vote and be elected," said Fuad.

The existence of regulations is important because currently the palm plantation situation has become the focus of international attention. International buyers who intend to purchase palm commodities not only pay attention to environmental aspects, but also labor protection. Foreign buyer countries have implemented various standards that Indonesia must comply with as part of the global supply chain. If Indonesia wants to continue to be a leading country in exporting palm commodities, it must prepare infrastructure and modalities for improving palm labor protection.

Fuad hopes that the bill that has been submitted to the legislators, both the government and the DPR, will receive a good response. This is because the draft and academic texts of the bill come from elements of society. He hoped that the draft could be disseminated by legislators. Key actors from the government and DPR must also have a strong commitment to pass the regulation.

"We have conducted intensive communication with the Vice Minister of Manpower. We continue to lobby to build a mutual understanding that the presence of this law is important and urgent to be ratified," said Fuad.

KOMPAS/NIKSON SINAGA

Workers are harvesting palm oil at a plantation company in Bahorok District, Langkat Regency, North Sumatra, on Wednesday (26/7/2023).

"precarious" workers

Coordinator of KBS Hotler Parsaoran said that the coalition has proposed the Palm Labor Protection Bill to the government, which is represented by the Ministry of Manpower. In the Bill, the coalition proposes the protection of employment relationships in the sense that there will no longer be precarious workers, no more daily laborers or contract workers employed in the production process, guarantees of safety and health at work (K3), protection of women workers, protection of local migrant workers, and freedom of workers to run the union.

"We see that Law Number 13 of 2003 (regarding Employment) cannot accommodate the work system, work conditions, and living conditions in oil palm plantations. The biggest victims of precarious work relationships are women. Therefore, in the Bill, we propose that all workers involved in the production process must have permanent employment status and female workers must be provided with reproductive health protection and breastfeeding facilities," he said.

In the draft law, according to Hotler, local migrant workers must be ensured to get jobs in accordance with the agreement. So far, there has indeed been a draft law regarding the Protection of Agricultural Workers, but it is still in the long list of discussions at the level of law formation and its substance is not yet clear to the coalition.

"The precarious work relationship refers to a type of job that is paid low wages, lacks protection and security, has minimal safety and health standards, no freedom of association, and a wage system that forces workers to work beyond their capacity due to high work targets, even having to bring their spouse to help achieve their work targets," he said.

Such practices even occur within the scope of palm oil companies that have obtained Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certification or Sustainable Palm Oil Plantation Certification Indonesia (ISPO).

KOMPAS/ZULKARNAINI

An employee at a palm oil plantation in East Aceh District, Aceh Province, is getting ready to go home on Monday (24/7/2023). Workers are relied upon by the company for the smooth production of the company.

Hotler stated that several large companies that have obtained RSPO certification still employ BHL for years, do not register workers as members of social security for employment, and do not provide proper protective equipment. Coalition members have repeatedly reported these complaints to labor inspectors in the region, but no follow-up actions have been taken. The reason given by the inspectors often is the long distance and lack of budget for supervision.

Just like BHL, the majority of contract workers in plantations do not receive adequate occupational health and safety measures. For example, personal protective equipment is not provided.

The Executive Secretary of the Indonesian Palm Oil Workers Union Network (Japbusi), Nursanna Marpaung, stated that to date, the status of BHL still remains in the palm plantation.

"Due to their BHL status, the worker in question receives wages based on the amount of working days. Most BHL workers are not registered as social security participants. Even if there are BHL workers registered as social security participants, it is only due to the company's registration, but the type of coverage is only death and work accident insurance," he said.

In addition to BHL, the types of employment status in other palm oil plantations are contract workers, permanent employees/main employment conditions, and contracted workers. According to Nursanna, the contract worker status has become widespread after the issuance of the Omnibus Law on Job Creation. The duration of the contract is short, which is three months, and plantation workers with this status are prohibited from unionizing.

The reality that is currently happening is that workers who were previously categorized as BHL (daily laborer) are now being moved to contract workers. This reality does not actually change their fate. Just like BHL, most contract workers in plantation sectors do not receive sufficient occupational safety and health (K3) measures, for example, personal protective equipment is not provided.

"BHL is mostly filled by women. They work just as hard as men. If in the past women joined BHL only to assist their husbands, now women in BHL work long hours just like their husbands," said Nursanna."

KOMPAS/ZULKARNAINI

Workers at a state-owned palm oil plantation in East Aceh Regency, Aceh Province, are clearing old fronds from palm trees on Monday (24/7/2023). The laborers are crucial to the smooth operation of the company's production.

Japbusi, together with the Indonesian Palm Oil Entrepreneurs Association (Gapki), has established a bipartite relationship named Jaga Sawitan. One of Jaga Sawitan's recommendations is to urge the government to eradicate the BHL (Illegal Levies on Palm Oil) practice.

"We urge the establishment of a tripartite collaboration institution in the plantation sector. This is because, in the plantation sector, the employment status already violates Law No. 13/2003 (concerning Employment). This law only regulates indefinite and fixed-term workers," said Nursanna.

Head of Human Resource Development Division of the Indonesian Palm Oil Association (Gapki), Sumarjono Saragih, stated that they are striving to build awareness of sustainable palm oil that is in line with global demands, including employment issues.

According to Sumarjono, Gapki is also trying to promote decent housing for workers, good occupational health and safety practices, and gender-sensitive work mechanisms. Members of Gapki are ensured to have implemented the minimum wage.

Regarding social security membership, Sumarjono continued, Gapki specifically acknowledges that regulations require both formal and informal workers to become participants of employment social security. However, in plantations, local migrant workers often emerge without identification, making it difficult to register for employment social security.

The employment situation of workers in companies that have obtained RSPO certification is far better than that of non-RSPO companies. "Improvements mainly occur because many workers are upgraded from PHL or contract workers to permanent employees," said Lorent Aritonang, Secretary General of the Indonesian Plantation Workers Union.

KOMPAS/ZULKARNAINI

The view of palm oil plantations in Seuneubok Cina, Indra Makmu District, East Aceh Regency, Aceh Province, on Monday (24/7/2023). Most of the villagers work as laborers in palm oil plantations.

The RSPO requires fair wages that meet legal and industry standards, no forced labor, human trafficking, and discrimination. In palm oil plantations, there should also be no exploitation or employing of children, no harassment, and workplace abuse. The RSPO also mandates that companies acknowledge the right to unionize and negotiate between workers and the company.

Human trafficking

Regarding the protection of palm oil workers, the draft bill that is being developed is also expected to address the potential for loan sharking and human trafficking practices that undermine human dignity.

The Secretary of the Indonesian Palm Oil Workers Union (Sepasi) in Central Kalimantan, Dianto Arifin, stated that this year Sepasi Kalteng accommodated seven palm oil workers from East Nusa Tenggara and West Nusa Tenggara who arrived without proper administration and through middlemen. They were promised jobs but left stranded in Kalteng.

Of the seven people, four of them were able to return to their hometown immediately because they still had money, while the other three stayed at the Sepasi Kalteng office. The three of them worked at the same place as Dianto, in a palm plantation, to gather money for their journey home.

Read also: Fate of Plantation Workers