Tabea Meuter
This ethnographic study explores the role of solidarity and gender relations within the Transnational Palm Oil Labour Solidarity (TPOLS) network, specifically in the context of the palm oil industry. It highlights ethnographic observations and interviews with female workers, trade unionists, and NGO representatives to understand how solidarity is experienced, how women position themselves within the movement, and what knowledge is shared regarding a just socio-ecological transformation, often referred to as Just Transition. This article presents the main findings of research for a master’s thesis in cultural anthropology at the University of Bonn, Germany.
Solidarity among Members of the TPOLS Network
As a first step, I analysed the solidarity among TPOLS members and participants at the Just Transition conference, complemented by their everyday life on the palm oil plantation, based on the four sociologically rooted sources—interdependence, norms and values, struggle and encounter—as defined by Stijn Oosterlynck et al. (2016). This enabled me to discover that the formation of solidarity is indeed influenced by social differentiation resulting from the division of labour and the awareness of interdependence, as found by the research team (Oosterlynck et al. 2016). However, I argue that knowledge is one of the most important tools in the struggle of social movements to achieve an effective collective struggle. Knowledge can be located as a concrete practice of solidarity at the second level of investigation defined by Schall (2022).
As has been shown, the JT conference served as a platform for exchanging knowledge and experiences. In some cases, such as that of Selvi as a female migrant worker on a Malaysian palm oil plantation, the conference led to the realisation that these are systematic problems and mechanisms of oppression, as the problems described could be transferred to any plantation, regardless of the country of the participating actors. The act of encountering each other’s experiences serves to reinforce a sense of solidarity, whereby each participant’s challenges become part of a broader, interconnected movement. Legitimisation as a speaker, i.e., knowledge empowerment (Epstein 1996: 234), plays an important role here.
The study has demonstrated that the awareness of interdependence varies greatly for individual actors. This was particularly evident during the FGD and the following days that I spent with the female workers on the plantation in Central Kalimantan. They were previously unaware of the concept of JT and were unable to respond to my question regarding solidarity. Nevertheless, this does not imply that they do not engage in acts of solidarity in their daily lives; rather, it suggests that the term ‘solidarity’ is not a commonly used term within their everyday vocabulary. Based on the interviews and participant observations, I was able to determine that the shared norms and values of all researched participants included a commitment to cohesion, friendship, mutual support, honesty, and authenticity.
Unequal Power Relations and Suppression of Solidarity
I was able to identify numerous struggles as a result of unequal power relations. Palm oil companies use various strategies to prevent solidarity and consequently strong labour unions from emerging among their workers. In my interviews, observations, and the FGD, I found two corporate strategies that attempt to suppress solidarity:
1) Discrimination against Indigenous People and Women through Employment Status.
As soon as Indigenous communities who have made a living as farmers on their land are dispossessed of their land by palm oil companies, they are obliged to work on the palm oil plantations that have now been established (as there is otherwise no other source of income for them). To fuel conflicts among workers, palm oil companies generally only employ Indigenous people as casual or daily labourers on the land they previously owned, or they are not even hired directly by the company itself but as “sticky workers” by other workers, such as harvesters. As casual labourers, they have no social security and no fixed wage, and are only employed if they reach their targets. This employment status is also allocated to women. Transmigrants, i.e., recruited workers who usually move from the ‘mother island’ of Indonesia (Java) or other surrounding islands to a palm oil region to find work there, are employed on the same plantations as permanent workers with fixed wages, holidays, and sick days. As a result, Indigenous people see migrants—even though they are mostly Indonesians themselves—as enemies instead of the companies that employ them, who are taking away their jobs.
2) The Spread of Rumours and Misinformation
One strategy employed by employers to discredit environmental activist movements is to disseminate the narrative that environmental activists are seeking to undermine their employment. Such concerns also impact workers’ personal lives, dissuading them from adopting a proactive stance on sustainability issues. Furthermore, workers—predominantly female—who are required to spray or decant pesticides are informed that highly sweetened condensed milk is capable of eliminating the toxins accumulated in their bodies as a result of their occupational activities. There are currently no precise regulations governing the obligation of companies to provide their workers in the area of pesticides with additional nutrition to strengthen their health. Presumably for ‘cost efficiency’ reasons, the plantation operators therefore distribute condensed milk and suggest to their workers that this is appropriate food.
Efforts to Overcome Power Imbalances in the TOLPS Network
Power imbalances within TPOLS do exist, but the movement’s more powerful participants (those who have more knowledge) seem to be aware of this and actively strive to overcome the differences by empowering those with less knowledge to reach the same level. This is evident from the workshops and training sessions organised within the network. Outside of TPOLS, in the everyday lives of the actors I interviewed, solidarity practices such as the training of women as spokespersons, the sharing of information leaflets on grievances and legal bases to encourage workers to demand fairer working conditions, and personal interactions in which people are specifically addressed could be identified. This can be understood as a form of encounter. Although it must be taken into account that the introduction of the JT concept in TPOLS is still quite recent and – as recognised by the respondents – involves a long process, it was nevertheless possible to see that there are strong differences in the understanding of it.
One example of this is the case of the two labour unionists who attended the JT conference, but a month after I visited their plantation had not yet discussed JT within their union. This, in turn, led to the six women workers in the FGD hearing about the JT concept for the first time. This suggests that individuals act as gatekeepers. Since only representatives of individual organisations were present at the conference and thus had access to information, it also depends on them what information they allow to pass through the doors to reach their labour union colleagues who have not had the chance to visit the conference.
It was also evident at the conference that, in purely quantitative terms, more men than women were able to participate. This is not unexpected, given that women are generally underrepresented in political struggles and organisations. However, they are also often employed in more precarious working conditions. Therefore, ensuring the dissemination of information is crucial to guarantee that the knowledge reaches every single person.
Women are the Worst Marginalised Group
This study has shown that women are one of the worst marginalised groups affected by the exploitation and damage caused by the palm oil industry. Their employment status, the deep-rooted expectations of patriarchal societies, and experiences of sexualised violence are the main reasons that hinder them from participating in political struggles and seriously endanger their mental and physical health. These could be uncovered by analysing the obvious and less obvious ‘gender ideologies’ according to Idrus (2008). In their work as sprayers or packers of pesticides, women are exposed to health risks daily. The pollution of drinking water also leads to a high risk of developing cancer, skin and respiratory diseases, or more frequent miscarriages in their private lives as a result of their work. The experiences of rape, sexual harassment in the workplace and domestic violence described to me — whether in West Africa or Indonesia — have revealed a striking commonality: in all cases, the women chose to suffer in silence because the social consequences would have been unbearable for them.
The woman is still regarded as the primary caregiver within the family, responsible for maintaining the domestic environment. In addition to her work, which in the case of plantation workers takes between eight and eleven hours a day, she is also tasked with managing the domestic sphere, including the care of children and the provision of support to her spouse. Ultimately, there is a paucity of time and, arguably, energy to engage in political struggles within the union. In the case of rape described by Aminata, the women concerned in West Africa are threatened with direct divorce and stigmatisation by the village community. A raped woman is considered a disgrace to her husband and the community. Adinda, an NGO employee of a feminist organisation that advises Indigenous Indonesian women in cases of human and labour rights violations, has also recounted similar stories. If a woman is raped within a Dayak tribe, the tribal leader must perform a purification ritual. The community regards rape as impure. It is therefore the task of the tribal leader to free the community from evil by cleansing the rape victim. Adinda criticises this procedure, as it only represents a further burden and stigmatisation of the victim.
Another form of loss of women’s self-determination is the newly introduced rule on the plantation in Central Kalimantan that I visited. There, women are no longer allowed to wear shorts to work because, according to their superiors, this sexualises the men, as women provoke men’s desire. Another encroachment on female self-determination is the issue of menstrual leave. On some palm oil plantations, a fully bleached sanitary towel must be shown to take leave. Who it has to be shown to depends on whether the plantations are certified. Certified plantations are obliged to have their plantation clinic. In the case of certified clinics, the women must show their fully bled sanitary towel to a nurse. If there is no clinic on the plantation, they must show it to their supervisor. The potential impact of chemicals used in their daily labour practices on the female menstrual cycle was highlighted by this study. An additional challenge is to consider the unclean water they use for cleaning, cooking, and personal hygiene during their menstrual cycle.
Efforts to Fight Injustice
As a strategic solution for physical violence, Aminata’s organisation has set up a women-only union: Within this framework, women can share their suffering without fear of consequences. Aminata and her colleagues advise the women on further steps and pass on cases of rape anonymously to the rest of the union so that the victims do not face any further consequences. If the union men refuse to act, Aminata’s organisation threatens to make the cases public on the radio—still without names to protect the victims—to demand consequences.
Despite the aforementioned constraints, there are women who are finding their voice and fighting for their rights. Women like Buana, who defies social expectations and as an unmarried, childless woman, advocates for better working and living conditions, or Sita, who despite having been forced into marriage, first started working as a volunteer in an NGO for migrants in palm oil plantations and then developed into a full-time employee with responsibility. These women are gradually challenging the norms that suppress their participation. As many women are also directly affected by land grabs and environmental degradation, they are not just victims of systematic injustice; they are also key actors in the fight for a social-ecological transformation.
The fact that labour unions are male-dominated shows that the conditions of labour union culture are designed for men, making it easier for them to participate than for women. It is not only women who have to adapt by legitimising themselves as stronger spokespersons and setting up women’s committees, but it also takes the active adaptation of the environment with the help of their male colleagues to make it more favourable for women. To use Foucault’s understanding of culture, the hierarchically structured values and procedures (Foucault/Gros 2001 [1982]) must be arranged in such a way that solidarity as a cultural practice becomes accessible to all its diverse members, regardless of gender, and the expected values are lived.
For the TPOLS network, JT represents an intersection of labour and land rights, environmental protection, and social equity. The term, which is rooted in environmental justice and the fight for equitable change in the face of the climate crisis, is still relatively new to many grassroots activists within the TPOLS network. However, the translation of the concept from theory to practice remains a challenge, especially because the day-to-day concerns of survival often overshadow long-term environmental concerns. The environmental impact of palm oil production as it is now, particularly the pollution of water sources and the destruction of forests, has a direct impact on the health and livelihoods of workers and their communities.
The study demonstrates that JT provides a potential avenue for labour movements in the palm oil industry to address not only the economic exploitation of workers but also the environmental devastation caused by the expansion of palm oil plantations. The concept of JT has the potential to be a transformative tool if it is sustained by education and advocacy efforts. Participants like Agung, Rizal, and Aminata emphasise that JT must be an ongoing process — one that requires continuity and dedication.
Please download the full master’s thesis at the following link:
Tabea Master’s Thesis