
Many leave dire situations to work in oil palm plantations hoping for a better future, but they are vulnerable to deception and poor working conditions. — Reuters pic
Palm oil makes its way from the rainforests of Indonesia and Malaysia (and increasingly Africa and Latin America) into 50% of what we buy, from toothpaste to margarine. Linked to deforestation, habitat loss, fires and the displacement of communities, the production of palm oil has raised major concerns to date.
The palm oil industry is also a huge user of migrant labour, which bring problems of exploitation and discrimination. Here’s what we learned in a recent expert live chat on palm oil and migration.
1. Palm oil is a popular industry for migrants
2. Using migrant labour in palm oil is nothing new
When the Dutch first introduced oil palms to south-east Asia 150 years ago, they brought migrants from India and China to cultivate the plantations. Now the region employs workers from countries including Nepal, Thailand, the Philippines, Burma, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Vietnam.
Oil palm plantations are among the least monitored worksites in the world due to their remoteness and size, but the rapid growth of mobile phone technology is bringing the industry’s abuses out of the shadows. Read more