Golden Agri Resources (GAR), one of company that buy palm oil products from IndoAgri, will conduct field trip to the IndoAgri company in Riau. It is conducted because GAR has some principle and criteria toward their supplier. GAR plans to conduct field trip to PT. Salim Ivomas Pratama both on palm oil plantation and palm oil factory owned by IndoAgri in Riau on 17-19 of July 2017. Before the fieldtrip GAR invites OPPUK and Serikat Buruh Perkebunan Indonesia (SERBUNDO) for advices and opinions in office PT. SMART Belawan.
In the meeting, GAR represented by Wahyu W. Wigati (GAR Third Party Landscape Head), Irpan Kadir (GAR Supply Chain Compliance Head), and Regina Destia Leki (Supplier Engagement Specialist). OPPUK represented by Herwin Nasution, SH (Executive Director of OPPUK), Lambok Simbolon (Advocacy and Campaign) and Suhib Nurido (Study and Research).
The purpose of this fieldtrip is to collect informations about the conditions on the field, challanges and issues which is confronted by their bussiness partner in fulfillment of social and environmental policies of GAR especially social aspect. GAR already know that OPPUK is NGO that focus on labor issues and has scientific publication related to condition of plantation workers. Since that GAR want to know OPPUK opinions related to checklist of GAR team for audit fieldtrip.
Herwin Nasution as also Chairman of SERBUNDO said that SERBUNDO is focused and concerned to improving the conditions of workers in palm oli plantations that currently have bases in North Sumatera, East Kalimantan and will expand to Jambi and Riau provinces. SERBUNDO exists in Wilmar Group plantantion in North Sumatera province. Herwin also said that good work-relationship between worker or trade union and company can increasing productivity and walfare of their laborer. But it is undeniable that many employment still do not accept the presence of independent unions so the dialogue is not created which makes unfair work relationship. In this situation, workers will experience the oppression from the management.
For now, there is no constitution that acomodate the workers of palm oil plantation, Law No. 13 and Ministerial Decree 100 even worsens labor life, coupled by the presence of BKSPPS that implement CBA for all plantation members. Whereas the conditions of each plantations is different. SERBUNDO in their struggle has been successful in Wilmar company, this CBA is different from BKSPPS and this can be an example that good relation can be established by social dialog.
In the end of the meeting, he said about desire of GAR to visit Riau, SERBUNDO and OPPUK convey the necessity of right methodology, such as interview activity to determine the right representative of the labor. Herwin also conveyed that the results of GAR while visits the field can be given to SERBUNDO and OPPUK in order to given advice and response to GAR checklist in accordance to the facts in the fields that has been found by OPPUK and SERBUNDO.
