Estates urged to improve worker incentives

Tan Sri Bernand Dompok said that the government will take initiatives to talk to plantation owners to improve salaries and other facilities so as to attract more locals working in the estates. Perhaps the government also realizes that over dependent on foreign labour would not do any good to the plantation industry. Oil palm planted hectare has been increasing exponentially in Indonesia over the past few years. It will come to a time that the plantation companies in Indonesia will pay the workers well enough to retain them especially if CPO price is sustained at high levels. We would have a tough time to get labour supply from Indonesia at that time and that would seriously hamper the plantation business in our country.

You probably have heard that the wages for plantation workers are not attractive and the working conditions and living environment are below par. How bad is bad? Let’s me share with you the stories or rather the hardship the plantation workers have to endure. One instance, the estate was facing the shortage of quarters and thus they cramped two families sharing in the same quarter with only one room. Now what happen if the couples want to make babies? Well they will have to take turn to use the only room in the quarter or they would have to do it in the field. No wonder sometimes we come across some used condoms at the fields. Some worker quarters in remote areas are without water supply. The workers have to take bath and doing washing work at the river, and depending on rain water for drinking and cooking. Plantation companies are making tones of money especially when the CPO prices are skyrocketing over the past two years. But what have they done to the workers which I regard them as the vein of the plantation as without them harvesting the crop, the plantation would not been making money.

When the plantation companies are putting up attractive remunerations to the top management, at least what they should do is to improve the living conditions of the workers. When the big bosses are driving expensive company cars, BMW or sorts, at least there must be transports available to send the workers to the hospital should they fall sick. Somehow I feel that the workers are suppressed simply because their employers have to be prudent on the cost in order to support the high remunerations of the top management.