Malaysia is one of Asia's biggest employers of foreign labour. But recently, cases of deaths, abuse and forced labour have come to light. What is going on? Who is protecting these migrant workers?
BY EILEEN NG
Claims of child labour in the local palm oil sector must be backed by more evidence, said the National Union of Plantation Workers (NUPW), referring to a list of goods produced by child and forced labour issued by the US Department of Labour which cited Malaysia.
NUPW executive secretary A. Navamukundan said the children who “worked” in the palm oil sector were likely those in oil palm smallholdings run by families, where they helped out in their free time.
This did not necessarily denote child labour, he said, responding to the list issued on December 1 by the department’s Bureau of International Labour Affairs (ILAB).
“My experience tells me the children are helping out and I don’t think they are exploiting the children. To me, I take it as part and parcel of family solidarity, helping out to support the family.
“It is the same in any operations like vegetable farms or food stalls where children help out their parents during weekends and holidays, but it is definitely not forced or child labour,” he said.
In small, family-run plantations, he said, children aged between 10 and 15 may help their parents collect oil palm fruits. Family-run smallholdings are usually less than 4ha in size.
According to 2011 statistics by the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB), independent smallholdings comprise 61% of the 5 million hectares of oil palm land in Malaysia, the world’s second largest producer.
In the case of Sabah and Sarawak, the long and porous border with Indonesia meant that people from Kalimantan could easily cross over to find work in plantations, often with their children who joined their parents to help out, said Navamukundan.
Palm oil conglomerates would not risk their reputation to hire children to such work as they have to comply strictly with occupational health and safety rules, and bear the risk of liabilities if anything untoward happened, he added.
Malaysia’s palm oil sector appeared in the latest list of goods produced by child labour that was part of the ILAB’s biannual reporting to the US Congress.
The list is also a requirement under the US law, the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorisation Act (TVPRA) 2005, to monitor and provide information on human trafficking for forced labour.
In a press statement on the department of labour’s website, it said palm oil was a new addition to the list of goods made with child labour, and cited Malaysia for it.
ILAB had said it focused on information about children under the age of 18. It also defined “child labour” as work done by a person below 15 that is similar to slavery, for illicit purposes, and which harms “the health, safety and morals of children”.
It said the list was derived using data from “publicly available primary and secondary sources”, and these included data from the International Labour Organisation, site visits by ILAB and American government staff, national surveys as well as information compiled by academic institutions and non-governmental organisations.
“To ensure a transparent process, we only use publicly available information to develop the list,” spokesman from the US embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Drake Weisert, told The Malaysian Insider which asked for more details on child labour in the palm oil sector.
The information sources in a bibliography attached to the list are of news reports by Malaysian and foreign media outlets, and reports by the US embassy in Kuala Lumpur as well as migrant rights’ group, Tenaganita.
But Navamukundan said more specific information should have been included in the list instead of classifying Malaysia based on general criteria.
“They should (state) under what circumstances child labour is found in the industry, where are the locations, are there more boys than girls involved and what are the compromised universal rights of the child as a result of this.”
Meanwhile, Weisert of the US embassy said the inclusion of Malaysia into the TVPRA list did not automatically lead to sanctions.
The primary purpose of the list is to raise public awareness about forced labour and child labour and to promote efforts to address them, he said.
“The list is not intended to be punitive, but rather as a starting point for individual and collective action.
“One of the most constructive actions a company can take when reports indicate a problem in its sector is to evaluate its own strategy of prevention and remediation, and share with other companies and the public at large what efforts it is making, including best practices.”
Weisert added that the list also served to shine a light on a global problem and to help shape policymaking, development assistance and business practices.
“Governments use it as an opportunity for engaging and seeking support in their efforts to eliminate child labour and forced labour – including by asking for technical assistance where it’s needed most. Companies use it when carrying out risk assessments and engaging in due diligence on labour rights in their supply chains.
“Civil society uses it as an awareness-raising tool and to promote and inform efforts to address child labour and forced labour worldwide.” – December 3, 2014.
Source: The Malaysian Insider
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