PALM OIL REPORT Exploited and Illegalised: The Lives of Palm Oil Migrant Workers in Sabah 2 SOLIDAR SUISSE Palm oil report 2019 Palm oil report 2019 SOLIDAR SUISSE 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS 05 Introduction 06 Foreword 07 Life and work on plantations: isolation, exclusion and illegal status 11 Children’s lives on plantations 14 Exploitation in palm oil plantations in Malaysia 17 The legacy of this misery in Switzerland 19 Nestlé and palm oil 24 Recommendations for Nestlé 25 Recommendations to the Government of Sabah 26 Conclusion 26 Sources Imprint Published by Solidar Suisse Quellenstrasse 31 P.O. Box 2228 8031 Zurich Phone: 044 444 19 19 [email protected] www.solidar.ch Editorial office: Simone Wasmann, Lionel Frei August 2019 4 SOLIDAR SUISSE Palm oil report 2019 Palm oil report 2019 SOLIDAR SUISSE 5 INTRODUCTION Palm oil is a successful product that is found possible pressure on witnesses. The real names in 10 to 20% of our consumer goods, including of the plantations will not be mentioned in this food, cosmetics or cleaning products. One in six report for security reasons. They will be called products sold in our supermarkets contains it.1 Mojokuto and Suluk. Due to the remoteness of Often criticized for its ecological impacts, this plantations and the social isolation of undocu- commodity is also at the origin of catastrophic mented migrants, access to reliable information working conditions. This is particularly the case about their situation is extremely difficult. This in the Malaysian state of Sabah on the eastern is reflected for instance in the lack of availab- side of Borneo where 9% of the palm oil consu- le data. The choice of the plantations studied med in the world is produced.2 Illegal migrants, could therefore not be made entirely freely, but from Indonesia mostly, make the majority of the depended on where contact with the migrant labour force for the plantations in the region. An workers could be established and a relationship estimated 840,000 migrants work and live there of trust established. in inhuman conditions.3 Secluded on the planta- tions because of the risk of arrest, they collect One third of the palm oil imported into Switzer- the fruit in harsh and dangerous conditions and land comes from Malaysia.5 One of its main im- for a pay that do not allow them to live decent- porters is Nestlé, which uses large quantities of ly. They are at the mercy of their employers and palm oil in the manufacture of its products for risk being deported at any moment. They are both Swiss and foreign markets. Nestlé actively trapped in a situation of extreme poverty and communicates its commitment to the environ- exploitation, which includes the fundamental ment and the respect of human rights.6 However, elements of forced labour, as defined and prohi- Solidar Suisse has uncovered that the company, bited in international conventions. through its supply chain, is directly and indirec- tly linked to palm oil produced in Mojokuto and The situation of the children of plantation wor- Suluk, and more generally to production throug- kers is also particularly worrying, as they are se- hout the entire Sabah region. This involvement verely affected by their parents‘ economic and is occurring despite the fact that the company social precariousness. They cannot access pu- in Vevey is fully aware of the human rights viola- blic schools and many work to help their parents, tions in the sector. As a global food and bever- in violation of international rules that formally and age giant, there is an urgent need for Nestlé to explicitly prohibit child labour. This takes place take greater social responsibility. It must move under the complacent watch of the state, which from words to effective action: its credibility is is pursuing a repressive policy towards migrants at stake. and their children, while turning a blind eye to this cheap labour force that is essential to the lucrative palm oil industry. Solidar Suisse conducted a field survey in two plantations in the state of Sabah.4 By intervie- wing dozens of workers, it was possible to draw up an unprecedented picture of the working conditions prevailing in the field. This investiga- tion was carried out without informing the ma- nagement, in order to protect workers and avoid 6 SOLIDAR SUISSE Palm oil report 2019 Palm oil report 2019 SOLIDAR SUISSE 7 LIFE AND WORK ON PLANTATIONS: ISOLATION, EXCLUSION AND ILLEGAL STATUS Migrants exploited since the 1960s oil palm plantations, a majority of workers are The large-scale production of palm oil dates without work permits. According to the Director back to the early 1960s, but has accelerated si- of the Sabah Immigration Department, 70% of gnificantly since the 1990s. Designated by the foreigners are reportedly without work permits,10 acronym 3D (for dirty, difficult and dangerous) by which represents about 840,000 people in an the local population, work on plantations is very illegal status. poorly paid. From the first development of the industry, the local population has been reluctant Despite measures taken to discourage the in- to work in palm plantations. Thus, starting in the flux of foreign workers, the number of migrants 1960s, migrant workers from Indonesia and the has increased continually. The policy in place Philippines have been continuously hired to fill creates extremely precarious conditions for the shortage of local workers while the industry migrants. To work legally migrant workers are continued its rapid expansion. However, in the required to obtain a work permit from the com- 1980s, Malaysia started to implement measures pany that employs them and are de facto under design to curtail the employment of migrant wor- the control of their employer. Indeed, changing kers. The government had to respond to conflic- employer would mean starting the entire pro- ting expectations: limiting migration in an effort cess of obtaining a work permit all over again, to respond to the resentments of the local popu- an endeavor that is expensive and time-consu- lation while guaranteeing a cheap and sufficient ming. Furthermore it is at the employer‘s discre- labour force for the owners of palm plantations. tion whether to apply for a work permit at all. Plantations often employ workers without valid The situation may seem like a conundrum bet- documents, which limits their mobility and ties FOREWORD ween the labour needs of plantations and Malay- them to the plantation. sia‘s restrictive migration policy. The contradicti- on is however only an appearance as the illegal Sabah, located in eastern Borneo, has the lion‘s the equivalent of 2100 football fields, and em- situation of Indonesian employees is in fact pro- share of palm oil production among Malaysia‘s ploys about 200 workers. Estates of the Suluk ving to be profitable for the palm oil industry. As 13 states. This region alone is responsible for plantation cover 4000 hectares each (5600 the migrants find themselves without rights or more than 9% of the world‘s supply.7 More than plots) cultivated by 500 workers. protection, they are paid below the local mini- 85% of its agricultural land is in palm planta- mum wage and are at the mercy of their emplo- tions, which cover 1.5 million hectares.8 Con- yers. The exploitation of these workers is one of Changes in the area in palm oil plantations centrated along the east coast of the island, the components of success of palm oil, a very (in hectares) and the migrant population in Sabah the plantations are often owned by very large labor intense crop, as a cheap and competitive industrial groups such as Felda Global Venture, product on the world’s markets. Palm oil plantations cover huge areas. Ripe fruit Sime Darby or IOI Group. Although unknown to must be picked and delivered within 24 hours to the general public, these companies supply the Coming mainly from Indonesia and to a lesser the mill where the oil must be extracted and pro- world market with palm oil. extent from the Philippines, migrants represent cessed within another 24 hours. Workers are a significant part of the local population. Today, housed in barracks inside the plantations, which Our investigation focuses on two medium sized out of Sabah‘s 3.9 million inhabitants, about are in turn located most often far from towns, plantations, each consisting of several estates. 1.2 million are estimated to be foreigners, clo- roads and public infrastructure. Being undocu- A single Mojokuto estate covers 1500 hectares, se to a third of the population.9 Widely hired in mented workers also discourages migrants from 8 SOLIDAR SUISSE Palm oil report 2019 Palm oil report 2019 SOLIDAR SUISSE 9 frequenting public places where they face the Harvesting is done in groups of 7 to 14 harves- Although harvesting fruit bunches and collec- dependence on their employer. Moreover, this risk of arrest by police. This isolation is further ters. In Mojokuto, a ton of fruit is paid CHF 6.6 ting the fruits that fall off are the main causes of situation shows decisive indicators of the most reinforced by the control and restricted access (27 RM) to the harvesting team, and the sum physical injury, chemical spraying also has ne- extreme form of exploitation15: forced labour, as measures put in place at the entrances of palm is then divided up among the team members. gative health impacts. The Mojokuto and Suluk defined by the International Labour Organization oil estates. The only access to the plantations is A team can harvest between 5 and 12 tons per plantations use toxic herbicides such as Roun- (ILO).16 According to the ILO, „forced labour“ is through monitored gates.