Building worker voice: Spotlight on Indonesia (Part 2 of 2)

DIWA: Can you tell us about KBS and your role?

Ismet: I am the coordinator of the Koalisi Buruh Sawit. KBS itself is one of the union alliances in the palm oil sector. KBS consists of a number of unions and also NGOs (nongovernment organizations). There are around 12 unions that represent workers in their local constituencies, then there are eight (8) NGOs which we partner with, focused on addressing specific palm oil plantation issues. The two (2) largest areas where our members are based are in Kalimantan and Sumatera.

DIWA: How is Labor Day usually celebrated in Indonesia, especially by your organization?

Ismet: KBS has asked all KBS members, both in Sumatra and Kalimantan, to make sure they celebrate May Day, encouraging them to think about how they will honor or celebrate the day. What are you going to campaign for? There are lots of activities in West Kalimantan, including a multistakeholder dialogue. In South Kalimantan too, there is a dialogue and a seminar. Then finally, they will also demonstrate in the Kota Baru district. All will commemorate May Day. 

There are also those who have engagements with the government. One of the issues according to our friends in South Sumatra is to ensure that all areas in the region have a functional wage council. This is one of the issues our friends want to put pressure on to resolve.

This is also related to what the government previously stated, when it responded to the decision of the Constitutional Court [Decision No.] 168 related to Omnibus Job Creation Law. There was a recommendation from the Constitutional Court to withdraw the regulations related to employment laws from the Omnibus Law and make a separate new law¹. The Minister of Manpower stated that they would follow that advice and invited all the labor unions to provide input. There was also a question about whether they would make a new law and, in this context, it would involve all parties. So one of our demands this May Day is that, in the process of creating any new employment laws, the government involves all appropriate stakeholders. The government cannot take its hands off the wheel in addressing these pressing issues. The government has an important role to play in regulating workers and businesses, protecting [workers] from exploitation. This is a significant role.

DIWA: What key goals and objectives that have driven the work of KBS, especially in the last five (5) years?

Ismet: Internally, we are becoming more solid. We are discovering our focus, looking at the strengths and weaknesses of KBS. We participated in fact-finding endeavors that led to valuable academic research and contributed to a rancangan or a multi-stakeholder input for a bill specific for the palm oil industry².

If we look at the labor laws in Indonesia, their orientation is very manufacturing, very industrial; while in palm oil plantations, the situation is certainly very different such that many of the labor laws don’t cover what these laws should be covering. That’s why, I think, our biggest accomplishment in 2022-2023 is our production of a research paper and our advocacy for a bill on palm oil protection to the Ministry of Manpower and various stakeholders, including the Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat, or the House of Representatives in English. The second accomplishment happened last year, 2024. We did research on chemicals or poisons in the industry. In particular, our research looking into the ill-health effects of fertilizer on workers was significant. This can have a huge impact on workers. I think these are two (2) of the biggest accomplishments of the organization over the past roughly five (5) years or so.

DIWA: Is this the research that was presented at RSPO 2024 in Bangkok?

Ismet: The launch was on 11 November 2024, at around the same time as the RSPO’s event in Bangkok.

DIWA: What happened after that? Were there parties that wanted to work with KBS to implement policies/solutions that could protect workers because of the research you presented?

Ismet: The scope of this research was not just limited to Indonesia but also included stakeholders in three (3) other countries. There has been communication with the RSPO. KBS has also conducted a multistakeholder dialogue with the Ministry of Manpower, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Women Empowerment and Children’s Protection, and Ministry of Human Rights. We also sat down with and explained the research to GAPKI (Gabungan Pengusaha Kelapa Sawit Indonesia, or the Indonesian Palm Oil Association, in English).

DIWA: In recent years, why has KBS expanded its activities beyond advocacy; for example, in training, certification support, or direct worker empowerment initiatives?

Ismet: I don’t think it’s a shift in approach; it relates more to the function and overall presence of KBS. How can we strengthen and improve the situation of workers or the working conditions in palm oil? I think one of the things that needs to be done is to increase the capacity of unions, labor union leaders, as well as the members. So, one of our programs is to increase internal capacity because that is what supports the organization’s ability to do things like information and data gathering. If their knowledge, awareness, and capacity for action increases, then the stronger KBS will be as an organization, right?

The next thing is the need to be able to speak at an international level because when we talk about palm oil, it’s not just an Indonesian but a global product. Our recent research asks, for example, how do we build solidarity with friends in Colombia? We know that Colombia is one of the countries in Latin America that has a lot of oil palm plantations. How can we have the power to speak internationally, not just with other similar organizations but with buyers too?

We are also part of building an international network called IPOWU, the International Palm Oil Workers United. The first meeting was held in 2023 in Utrecht in the Netherlands, followed by another meeting in Colombia in 2024. We have to ask the question: How can we continue to improve the situation of palm oil workers and growth in Indonesia?

DIWA: What are the most pressing issues for KBS not just in the Indonesian context, but also in the global market/context? What crossover/s are you seeing?

Ismet: Based on the results of the research, we will dig deeper into what diseases are emerging in relation to using certain chemicals. How many people are affected by adverse health effects, both mild and serious? This inquiry could even lead to recovery/solution, if we find for example that there is one disease, the root cause of an issue. Agro-chemical dangers are still our focus this year.

Palm oil is the leading industry in Indonesia. The contribution to state income is quite large. But if we talk about labor wages in relation to this, it’s only the minimum wage being discussed. There are areas where wages are still below IDR2 million per month (US$121 per month). West Kalimantan, for example, is one of the areas that has a fairly large concession where the wage is only around IDR2.7 million per month (US$164 per month), below the average national minimum wage (IDR3.1 million per month or US$198). For these reasons, one of the concerns of KBS going forward this year is to conduct research on wage and wage theft. We will do this on a national scale.

We also have concerns about several new policies in Europe—e.g., the HRDD (Human Rights Due Diligence-related laws) and EUDR (EU Regulation on Deforestation-free Products—the impact of these policies or regulations. We know that the government admits that there are 3.3 million hectares of land that are considered protected forest areas, and I think the government has also made a policy on that. For example, they have convened a task force for controlling forest areas. There have been two (2) plantations where members of KBS are stationed and where issues of land redistribution have come under scrutiny. We really want to know what this land will be used for. Will it become a protected forest area? What kind of compensation structure might there be? Will palm oil trees that are already there remain? What kind of management will it be under? And so on. These could be derivative effects from the changing European Union policies, the EUDR. We would also like to know what positive impacts on workers would there be from these policy changes. This is one of our concerns as an organization.

DIWA: A few followup questions: Regarding wages in Kalimantan after the changes brought about by the Omnibus law, specifically the abolishment of sectoral minimum wage—what significant changes have you seen in workers’ wages? And when you conduct your wage research in Kalimantan, what would be your basis/benchmark—living wage or legal minimum wage? 

Ismet: Okay, I think this could be quite a long discussion, right? The abolishment of sectoral wages and the impact of the Omnibus law are definitely issues, but not just in our industry. I think it’s a problem in all industries. Since 2023, the Constitutional Court has granted review of some of the lawsuits from several labor unions, especially related to the bringing back of sectoral minimum wages. 

But in today’s wage systems, including that of the palm oil sector, the wages are still low. Even if there is a sectoral wage system—which is enforced in some places but not in others—these actions have not resulted in changes, small or large, in workers’ wages. Given the size of the palm oil industry, the baseline for workers’ wages should probably have a more appropriate basis than it does currently. 

The abolishment of the sectoral minimum wage of course has an effect. KBS is providing support to some members based in South Kalimantan in their struggle to make sure that they are paid the sectoral minimum wage, despite all the changes in the law. There are, of course, small changes, but there needs to be bigger changes forthcoming.

DIWA: Another followup, on the matter of policies regarding protected forest areas. Have there been cases in which the government is involved in explorations and land reclassifications for certain areas to become protected forest areas, and land from the community was taken and converted to a plantation? Can this be considered land theft and could these actions be driven in any way by changes in international regulations like EUDR?

Ismet: I think Indonesian community organizations have expressed criticism a few years back. Many have expressed complaints that in the palm oil sector, people have entered protected forest areas, or what could be considered deforestation practices, which were supposed to be prohibited by the previous administration. For example, [Former President] Jokowi, through various ministries, allowed an additional 3.3 million hectares for palm oil production. However, these expansions were not for independent smallholder farmers, but only for companies. In the last two (2) months, KBS members documented case/s of land-grabbing by corporation/s in two (2) areas in Central Kalimantan, where fences were erected in supposedly protected areas, either protected forest or supposedly community land which was previously farmed by smallholders. Similar occurrences have also been reported by other members in Southern Kalimantan.

I think it is also the government’s responsibility to respond to cases like these, to ensure [against] deforestation in protected areas and to resolve land rights issues. What can the workers do? We don’t know yet what will happen after the land has been reclaimed/repurposed, whether it will still be used as a palm oil plantation or used for something else. We don’t have any clear information on how to proceed in resolving issues like these. I think that’s part of the influence of European Union policy; after all, the palm oil market in Indonesia is one of the largest in the world.

DIWA: In 2022, it was reported that the Indonesian government increased the labor inspection budget from around US$15.1 million to US$22.7 million for 2023; and also allocated around US$150,000 for social rehabilitation programs to address child labor in the palm oil sector. From KBS’s perspective, what improvements for workers and their families at the plantation level has this increase in funding brought about? Where else should the government invest to ensure that the palm oil industry and its workers are truly protected?

Ismet: Yes, it is true that since 2022 there has been an increase in the government budget for oversight of work/employment regulations, especially supervision. But despite these changes, the outputs/actions of the government are the same in all industries. I’ve discussed these issues many times before, and I’ve met several times with the Ministry of Employment in Jakarta; the problem is never just limited to just budgets or manpower.

In most countries, they face similar issues when it comes to labor law enforcement. The problem is our way of thinking: it’s not in accordance with what we want. For example, in Bekasi Regency there are 5,000 companies [and] around five (5) labor inspectors. If we tick all boxes [to inspect] all companies from number one (1) to number 5,000 just in that area, it could take 15 years to complete.

Have we not learned or can we not adapt? Entrepreneurs are smart. They know the government cannot check every box of the 100,000 boxes sent each day from places like Tanjung Priok to Rotterdam or to the USA. So, I reiterate that this is not just about budget or human resources, but about the mindset and how the government approaches this.

Everyone has had similar complaints for the past 10 years. That means it’s a matter of mindset; whether related to supervision or otherwise. The last time we had a dialogue with the Ministry of Human Rights, we reiterated that while they have made [it possible to] report online, we still find a lot of the same recurring problems. Overseeing rules and regulations in the palm oil industry does not function well at the moment. 

DIWA: With the 2024 revision of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) standards and increasing focus globally on HRDD, how does KBS involve or partner with businesses or certification bodies to encourage better labor practices? 

Ismet: In 2024, with the changes to RSPO P&Cs (Principles and Criteria), KBS as a workers’ union in partnership with NGOs and other stakeholders have provided feedback for these new standards. The most important feedback from our part was about the dangers regarding some agro-chemicals, and issues with wages of and payment to workers. Previously, the P&Cs only referred to the legal minimum wage when they really should be based on a living wage standard. But as of now, we have not seen changes reflective of our input/feedback within the standards themselves.

On this note, I have to go back to our research, which randomly sampled 13 plantations. Of that sample, we were surprised to find out that two (2) of these were not members of the RSPO and the rest were members of the RSPO. And in terms of governance, particularly about protecting workers from agro-chemicals, those two non-RSPO members were better at it than the RSPO members, which undergo routine annual RSPO audits.

It seems that during RSPO audits, the auditors themselves are limited in scope, or maybe there is something else there? They are not able to analyze the situation fully, maybe? Our research was broader, interviewing workers in the field with their express consent, among other data collection field activities. In the end, yes, this could be considered a criticism, particularly regarding the RSPO auditing methodology. But it’s not criticism without basis or reason. This is a criticism to let the RSPO know, for future reference, that their auditing process/methodology should allow more freedom to their auditors to analyze the situation on the ground—for example, interviewing people in the field, at their homes, or in the factory.

I also think the RSPO P&Cs should consider further developments in European regulations, particularly the ones related to HRDD, in future versions of the P&Cs.

DIWA: Does collaboration with certification schemes like RSPO strengthen KBS’ position to protect and advocate for workers’ rights or does it present more of a challenge when resolving issues? Certified businesses or plantations may sometimes become complacent when addressing issues because they have already been issued certification. What are your thoughts on this?

Ismet: We had a meeting with the RSPO at their head office. They seemed a bit surprised by the results of our research. The meeting was less than productive from our perspective and we expressed our disappointment. Yes, we should have found a solution but what could we do? There was a followup discussion with colleagues in our international network which RSPO helped facilitate; and they also proposed to have us meet senior RSPO reps in Indonesia, which we welcomed. Because, of course, with these facts from our research, we must do something. But where do we start? 

We also have got input from GAPKI as they are also a valuable partner and source of information. So far, our discussions with them about the required next steps have been productive. They have been open with us in sharing their experiences, particularly about their multistakeholder initiatives to create guidelines combatting forced labor and child labor practices—for which there is a zero tolerance [policy in the industry]. Of course, these endeavors require not just discussions but cooperative action as well at the procedural level to address gaps for issues like ensuring female workers’ and daily workers’ rights. 

I recognize that implementation for all 3,000 palm oil companies is not a feasible action plan within a short period. We don’t have to be too ambitious. But first steps for the roughly 700 members of GAPKI are still necessary. They can be the examples or models on which further developments can be based. Generally, it seems Sumarjono (Saragih, Head of Human Resource Development Division of GAPKI) is open, along with GAPKI as an organization as a whole, for discussions about the steps we can take to address issues in the industry.

DIWA: From all the important lessons that KBS has learned in the last five (5) years, what will guide your advocacy work going forward?

Ismet: Yes, KBS is different now compared to KBS five years ago. The situation of the palm oil industry is not great at the moment; we have been left behind especially when compared to the manufacturing industry in Indonesia. But it’s our belief that KBS, as an organization, is getting better. If we can continue to be consistent and improve, we will continue to have a positive impact. Nationally, our voice has started to be heard. The discussions we’ve had in recent years have been important lessons in analyzing our strength and resolve in supporting our members. Our networks have the potential to provide vital support to our members too. Those are some of the important lessons. For our friends and colleagues as well in the palm oil industry, there isn’t much choice: if they want to change their situation, they have to organize and unionize, and build their networks as change is not possible alone.

—With contributions from DIWA’s Aaron Thirkell, Melissa Villanueva and Renata Sandhi.

The views and opinions expressed in this interview are those of the resource person and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of DIWA. 

This interview has been translated from the original Bahasa Indonesia and edited for clarity, brevity, and organization. 

For more about KBS, please visit the following website https://turc.or.id/koalisi-buruh-sawit/

1. Utami Argawati, with English translation by Rizky Kurnia Chaesario, Putri Ratnasari, and Yuniar Widiastuti, “Partially granted, Court requests labor law to be taken out of the Job Creation Law”, Constitutional Court of the Republic of Indonesia, 31 October 2024. https://en.mkri.id/news/details/2024-10-31/Partially_Granted,_Court_Requests_Labor_Law_to_be_Taken_Out_of_the_Job_Creation_Law ↩︎
2.  KBS initiated and drafted a bill, Rancangan Undang-Undang Perlindungan Buruh Perkebunan Sawit, or in English, the Draft Law on the Protection of Palm Oil Plantation Workers, which has yet to be passed into law.
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Read next: Building worker voice: Spotlight on Indonesia (Part 1 of 2)