Palm oil giant IOI mistreating migrant workers: Rights group
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Workers at an IOI oil palm estate in Pahang said accommodation was poor, with some forced to sleep on the floor as they were not given beds.
PHOTO: IOI CORPORATION
KUALA LUMPUR • Migrant workers employed by a Malaysian palm oil giant have faced mistreatment ranging from physical abuse to poor living conditions, a rights group said yesterday.
IOI Corporation is the latest producer of the commodity to face such allegations, and it follows the United States banning imports from two other Malaysian palm oil firms over abuse claims.
Activists have long claimed that low-paid migrant workers on plantations face abuse, and also blame the industry for driving destruction of rainforests to make way for agricultural estates.
The latest allegations came in a report by Finnwatch, which has for several years been documenting problems at IOI, a supplier to consumer giants including Nestle and Unilever.
The Finland-based group interviewed Indian workers at an IOI oil palm estate in central Pahang.
The workers complained accommodation was poor, with some forced to sleep on the floor as they were not given beds, and toilets and kitchens were in bad condition, the report said.
Workers were later given beds after Finnwatch complained.
A staff member is alleged to have slapped workers. Some complained of paying hefty recruitment fees, in breach of IOI's own policies, and they were not given copies of their employment contracts, the group said.
They were also unhappy with the firm's complex, performance-based wage policies, it said.
Finnwatch said some problems were rectified after they were raised, but the complaints highlighted "gaps in the IOI Group's wider recruitment and wage policies, and commitment to respect for human rights".
IOI did not immediately comment.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
