A dangerous place for women. stories of Indigenous Women working in oil palm plantations in Papua
▻https://www.farmlandgrab.org/post/view/30500
During the early planting activities of the company, workers still received some work tools by the company, but lately these are no longer provided to them. The disposable yellow gloves that are supposed to be used for fertilization activities should be changed every day, but there is no initiative from the company’s field staff to replace them. ’We are the one who have to ask them first’, said a woman.
Next to a wooden-made structure that serves as a resting place for the workers, there is a runnel which is usually used for washing hands and cleaning work tools. The runnel however was not very hygienic, and also possibly contaminated with chemical fertilizers. This might also gradually affect the health and safety of women workers.
Before starting to work in the oil palm plantation, Mama PM fulfilled her daily needs by selling vegetables and gathering Sagoo – a Papuan Indigenous staple food. ’We were free to work as we want, no boss, no rules, but the income we got were uncertain’. For her, working in the plantations allowed a monthly wage – something she did not get when relying on harvesting and gathering activities. But, to what extent is this true?
As a casual and temporary palm oil worker, Mama PM receives different wages depending on the number of days she worked in each month. Moreover, Rina, the administrative officer of the PT MJR nursery who is responsible to distribute the wages, is at the same time the owner of a small grocery stall with basic daily needs such as rice, sugar, coffee, tea, instant noodles and cigarettes. Each month, Rina cuts the wages according to the amount owed by the workers to her shop. If Mama PM works for a full month (25 days), then she will take home approximately two million rupiah (almost 140 dollars), from which she would still be deducted the monthly debt at Rina’s shop. Her monthly debt usually goes from 600 thousand to one million rupiah (around 42 to 70 dollars).
In addition to this, she still has a debt for the working tools, which need to be bought by workers in monthly instalments that are deducted from their salary. The company might sometimes provide a pair of rubber boots and masks - only if requested by the worker.
#papouasie #femmes #industrie_palmiste #forêt #déforestation