Labour abuses found at Indonesian palm plantations supplying global companies -Amnesty

Indofood Agri Resources

30/11/2016 24:01

By Eveline Danubrata and Bernadette Christina Munthe 
    JAKARTA, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Global consumer companies, 
including Unilever, Nestle, Kellogg and Procter & Gamble, have 
sourced palm oil from Indonesian plantations where labour abuses 
were uncovered, Amnesty International said on Wednesday.  
    Children as young as eight worked in "hazardous" conditions 
at palm plantations run by Singapore-based Wilmar International 
Ltd  WLIL.SI  and its suppliers on the Indonesian islands of 
Kalimantan and Sumatra, Amnesty said in a report.  
    Amnesty, which said it interviewed 120 workers, alleges that 
many of them worked long hours for low pay and without adequate 
safety equipment. The palm oil from these plantations could be 
traced to nine multinational companies, it said.  
    "Despite promising customers that there will be no 
exploitation in their palm oil supply chains, big brands 
continue to profit from appalling abuses," said Meghna Abraham, 
senior investigator at Amnesty.  
    The NGO said it chose Wilmar as the focus of its 
investigation as the company is the world's largest processor 
and merchandiser of palm and lauric oils, controlling more than 
43 percent of the global palm oil trade.  
    Other companies operating palm plantations in Indonesia 
include Golden Agri-Resources Ltd  GAGR.SI , Indofood Agri 
Resources Ltd  IFAR.SI  and PT Astra Agro Lestari Tbk  AALI.JK . 
    Even though Indonesia had strong labour laws under which 
most of the abuses can amount to criminal offences, these laws 
were poorly enforced by the government, Amnesty said.  
    Wilmar said it welcomed the NGO's report, which helps to 
highlight labour issues within the broader palm oil industry, 
but added that finding a solution requires collaboration between 
governments, companies and civil society organizations.  
    (For Wilmar's full statement, click http://bit.ly/2fx0q1t) 
    "We acknowledge that there are ongoing labour issues in the 
palm oil industry, and these issues could affect any palm 
company operating in Indonesia," it said.  
    "The focus on Wilmar ... is often used to draw attention to 
problems in the wider palm oil industry."  
    Indonesia is the world's biggest producer of palm oil, used 
in everything from snacks and soaps to cosmetics and biofuels, 
with the sector employing millions of workers. But plantation 
operators say it is difficult to have complete oversight of 
labour conditions. 
    No company would "consciously" hire underage labour as that 
is against the law, but some plantation workers get their 
children to help out, Sumarjono Saragih, an official at the 
Indonesian Palm Oil Association, told Reuters by telephone.  
    "If children want to help their parents, companies cannot 
forbid that." 
    Agus Justianto, an official at Indonesia's environment 
ministry, said that a company found guilty of labour violations 
could get its permit revoked, but it is "not in the environment 
ministry's domain." 
    Indonesia's manpower ministry did not immediately provide 
comment. 
    In an emailed statement, U.S. snack and breakfast food 
company Kellogg Co  K.N  said it is committed to ensuring that 
its palm oil is obtained from "known and certified sources that 
are environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial and 
economically viable." 
    If Kellogg finds or is made aware of any supply chain 
violations, it would discuss corrective actions with its 
suppliers, it said. "If the concerns are not adequately 
addressed, we take action to remove them from our chain." 
    Unilever said while significant progress has been made to 
tackle environmental issues associated with palm cultivation, 
more needs to be done to address "these deeply concerning social 
issues" and promised to work with its partners.  
    Nestle  NESN.S  and Procter & Gamble  PG.N  did not 
immediately provide comment. 
 
 (Reporting by Eveline Danubrata and Bernadette Christina Munthe 
in JAKARTA; Additional reporting by Masayuki Kitano in 
SINGAPORE; Editing by Tom Hogue) 
 ((eveline.danubrata@thomsonreuters.com; +62-21-29927603; 
Reuters Messaging: 
eveline.danubrata.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: PALMOIL SUSTAINABLE/LABOUR