Since the colonial era, health has been an integral part of labor control, as seen on palm oil plantations. Today, these agri-capitalist factories, operating in multinational contexts, continue to benefit from this mechanism of control, degrading workers’ bodies...
Beyond the Red Circle: Notes on a Palm Oil Plantation Union Meeting in Indonesia
In September last year, I attended a group discussion with workers organised by a branch of SERBUK (People’s Labour Union) at a palm oil plantation company in the Sambas Regency of West Kalimantan Province, Indonesia. It was the first gathering of union members...
Labour Rights Violation in the Global Supply Chain of the Palm Oil Industry
Joint Press Conference: Transnational Palm Oil Labour Solidarity Network The Transnational Palm Oil Labour Solidarity (TPOLS) received reports of alleged violations of basic labour rights in palm oil plantations. Based on reports from the union members, we found there...
Discussion summary: union organizing in the palm oil plantations
Palm oil plantation has been widely reported for practising various forms of human rights abuses. Given its characteristics of being located in remote area with social isolation in a massive land size, plantation is a ‘suitable’ place for harboring illegal practice of...
We condemn the act of expulsion and dismissal by PT. CITRA AGRO KENCANA towards palm oil workers and their families
Without a clear basis, the palm oil company PT. Citra Agro Kencana unilaterally fired 37 workers. Following this decision is the forced expulsion of workers and their families from their homes in the plantation area in the middle of the night. Until now, there has...
The condition of palm oil workers amidst Covid-19 pandemic
Summary of Discussion The discussion on “The condition of palm oil workers amidst Covid-19 pandemic” was held virtually on 26 July 2020. The discussion was attended by organization members of TPOLS network. This activity aims to obtain detailed information on...
Stop Forced Eviction Towards Windsor Plantation Workers, Malakoff Company Has to Fulfill Workers’ Housing Rights
In this Covid-19 pandemic difficult times, Windsor plantation workers are threatened with losing their homes. The Malakoff Corporation Berhad, which owns the plantation area, forcibly evicted three workers who had previously been laid off. The evictions occurred at...
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Sambas Declaration for Just Transition in the Palm Oil Industry
Introduction On 28-29th November 2023, an international conference on “Just Transition in the Palm Oil Industry” was held in Sambas, West Kalimantan in Indonesia. The conference was attended by 140 participants, mainly from Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Cambodia,...
Norwegian Pension Fund Dumps Bolloré for Human Rights Violations at Plantations
Collective Press Release | 5 March 2026 The world’s largest pension fund has revealed that it sold its shares in the Bolloré group, a powerful French conglomerate, due to unresolved concerns about “serious human rights violations” at a plantation company partly owned...
Red Earth, Green Lies: Oil Palm, Debt, and Socio-Ecological Calamity
“Sometimes,” Baso said quietly, reminiscing about his untended oil palm plot now overtaken by weeds, “this grant feels no different than being forced into debt, especially if it’s your first time planting.” For four years, he has helped manage a seventy-two-hectare...
Indonesia: PT HIP conflict continues with land occupation by community
PT HIP conflict continues with land occupation by community On Wednesday, 4 February, dozens of residents from Buol Regency, Central Sulawesi, originating from Mopu Village, Bukal Subdistrict, and several other villages, occupied palm oil land in Mopu Village, which...
Letter of Solidarity with the People of Padang Halaban
WE STAND WITH PADANG HALABAN: Stop Evictions in Padang Halaban and Respect Human Rights To: The Head of Rantau Prapat District Court, Labuhan Batu The Chief of North Sumatra Regional Police, Medan The National Commission on Human Rights (KOMNAS HAM), Jakarta The...
Banned Pesticides Continue to Flood Indonesia
Every year, companies from the European Union (EU), such as Germany, Belgium, and Spain, export hundreds of thousands of tons of hazardous pesticides to countries outside Europe. Many of the toxic substances in these pesticides are banned in EU countries themselves...





