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...
The Catastrophe that Flows Like Water: The Centrality of Water Issues for a Just Transition
The issue of heavily polluted water in palm oil plantation zones has severely affected local families and workers. Despite water issues appearing like a mundane problem, the communities near these plantations suffer from diseases caused by toxic rivers. According to...
Just Transition in the Palm Oil Industry – Part 3 (end)
A Just Transition perspective would integrate ecological sustainability and social justice. Photo: Worker’s helmet and fresh fruit bunch, North Sumatra, Indonesia © RAN/OPPUK/Nanang Sujana. Steps towards a Labour Perspective on Just Transition We have seen how...
Just Transition in the Palm Oil Industry – Part 2
The palm oil industry is plagued by land conflicts. Photo: Indigenous farmers block a road to a palm oil plantation and ritually spill pig’s blood in West Kalimantan, Indonesia © Irendra Radjawali Mosaic Landscapes as a Transformative Vision for the Palm Oil Industry...
Just Transition in the Palm Oil Industry: A Preliminary Perspective
What could a socially and ecologically just palm oil industry look like? Worker load fresh fruit bunches into a truck, North Sumatra, Indonesia © RAN/OPPUK/Nanang Sujana. Oliver Pye, Fitri Arianti, Rizal Assalam, Michaela Haug, Janina Puder[i] The palm oil...
Food, Health and Freedom of Association in Palm Oil Plantations
Photo: Women maintanance workers spread fertilizer on one plantation in North Sumatra. Credit; RAN/ OPPUK/ Nanang Sujana. Report on Crisis in Palm Oil Plantations in Indonesia and Malaysia during the Covid-19 pandemic It has been more than a year since the...
Transforming Food System Towards Food Sovereignty Through People’s Movement
People's Committee for the Transformation of the Food System Press release In solidarity! On 26-28 July 2021, the United Nations will hold Pre-Summit event as a part of United Nations Food System Summit (UNFSS) in Rome, Italy, which will be followed by Global Dialogue...
Recent Post
Learning Circle Notes: Organizing Strategies and the Struggle of Rural Workers’ Unions in Acre, Brazil
Friday, June 19, 2026 — An online discussion titled “Labor, Land, and Ecology Struggle: Organizing Strategies and the Struggle of Extractive Reserves in Acre, Brazil” was held through a collaboration between Sawit Wxmen Educational Group (SWEG), Sawit Watch (SW),...
Report on the Public Discussion: Military-Based Violence and Land Grabbing in Negros Occidental, The Philippines
Saturday, June 6, 2026 — The increasingly widespread military-based violence and land grabbing in the Southeast Asian region have sparked deep concern among various civil society groups. In response to this crisis, an online public discussion titled “Military-Based...
Press Release of the PERISAI (People’s Union Against Imperialism) Alliance
SAVE INDONESIA, IMPROVE THE PEOPLE'S LIVES! Today, the Indonesian people are facing a battered economic fate. The failure of fiscal policy is the most determining factor in the current situation. Nevertheless, US neoliberalism is the root cause of the fiscal...
TPOLS News-Recap: March-April 2026
Data Collection Method: “TPOLS News-Recap” is intended as a medium for circulating news summaries arising from various TPOLS social platforms and collaborative activities within the TPOLS Network, in two languages (Indonesian and English). Given the...
MAY DAY 2026: Collective Statement of TPOLS Network
MAY DAY 2026: Collective Statement of Transnational Palm Oil Labour Solidarity (TPOLS) Network THE NATIONAL BUDGET IS NOT FOR MILITARY EXPANSION, WAR FUNDING, OR AGRARIAN MONOPOLY Since 2025, the TPOLS Network has strongly criticized the Indonesian government's...







