Introduction
Forced labour within the Indonesian palm oil industry presents a growing challenge to the human rights of labourers and due diligence systems for businesses participating within the supply and production of palm oil. A current example of exploitative labour conditions and the impunity enjoyed by perpetrators present within the palm oil industry is showcased through the major forced labour case involving a former Indonesian official Terbit Rencana Peranging Angin. Despite the overwhelming evidence indicating practices of forced labour and human trafficking within the property of Terbit Rencana, in 2022, the Indonesian lower Court decided to acquit Terbit Rencana of all charges relating to human trafficking, torture, slavery, and forced labour (Mongabay, 2023).
This ruling has been openly condemned by the Indonesian Human Rights Commission, as it signals to the impunity enjoyed by state actors (Reuters, 2024). It has drawn international attention to Indonesia’s palm oil industry as a significant part of the country’s economy linked to major global brands occasionally linked to labour rights exploitations. This article will address, in further detail, labour rights exploitation issues present within the palm oil industry, the Terbit Rencana case, the broader human rights implications that this situation creates for human rights and business practices, as well as the remaining challenges from the unveiling of this situation in Indonesia.
Palm oil industry and forced labour
Indonesia is the biggest palm oil producer in the world and thereby the industry is a major part of Indonesia’s foreign exchange contributions (World Rainforest Movement, 2018). Due to the versatility of the use of palm oil to different products, a major increase in the number and size of palm oil plantations has occurred over the years. While keeping up with supply chain demands, an environment of cheap labour and labour exploitations has emerged. The massive production of palm oil in Indonesia has led to forced selling of farm lands to palm oil companies, where former farmers have been pushed into a situation of labour exploitation (World Rainforest Movement, 2018).
Women especially are subjected to exploitative labour conditions, where they work under informal arrangements, for below minimum wages and short-term work contracts, where job insecurity arises (World Rainforest Movement, 2018). Furthermore, the plantation companies set target-based wages, according to which the labourers must harvest a certain amount of fruit bunches in order to receive the wage (World Rainforest Movement, 2018). This results in extremely long working days for the labourers. However, these targets are set too high for one person to attain, leading to the labourers’ wives and family members being demanded to work without pay.
Additionally, the health of women labourers is at a high risk. They are usually responsible for the spraying of chemicals, such as pesticides, and do not receive adequate instructions on preventing health hazards nor proper equipment to protect themselves from constant exposure to the chemicals (World Rainforest Movement, 2018). Health issues include blindness, blurry eyes, burning of their hands, dizziness, and respiratory problems. Employers are absent in addressing the arising health matters and rather turn a blind eye to them.
Children are also bearing the costs of the expansion of the palm oil industry, where children as young as eight years old are exploited and consequently subjected to forced labour and abuse (Tereposky, 2025). Children are used for activities such as, applying fertilizers, without proper protective equipment and carrying heavy machinery and loads. All of which negatively affect children’s physical, emotional and intellectual development, and they must miss school in order to work at the plantations.
The aforementioned practices can be considered to be indicators of human trafficking, which according to a trafficking report is common in Indonesia’s palm oil industry (U.S. Department of State, 2024). Labour traffickers subject individuals to forced or debt-bondage, where the labourers do not have the possibility to change work or ask for better working conditions, leaving them in a cycle of abuse.
The Supreme Court Ruling on the Terbit Rencana forced labour case
Following an investigation conducted by the Indonesian authorities in 2022, the unveiling of the confinement of 665 individuals within cages has been allegedly linked to forced labour practices occurring within Terbit Rencana’s North Sumatra palm oil plantation, under which these individuals have been exposed to inhumane conditions, torture, and, in three instances, death (Mongabay, 2022). In a significant turn of events, the Supreme Court overturned the acquittal in 2024, committing Terbit to four years of imprisonment for his active participation in the human rights abuses occurring within his property in 2022 (Devdiscourse, 2024).
From February 2019, Terbit Rencana served as the Regent of Langkat, North Sumatra, until his suspension at the beginning of 2022 due to being charged with corruption allegations. In light of these allegations, a raid of Terbit’s residential compound was conducted by the Indonesian Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) in January of 2022, during which 48 were captured behind barred cells (Mongabay, 2022). Further investigations revealed that since 2010, under the guise of a drug rehabilitation institution, approximately 665 individuals had been detained within this residence and subjected to physical abuse, inhumane living conditions, and forced labour practices on Terbit’s palm oil plantation (Mongabay, 2022).
In November 2024, the Supreme Court of Indonesia overturned the lower Court’s decision of granting acquittal for Terbit’s involvement, sentencing Terbit to four years in prison under human trafficking charges (Devdiscourse, 2024). A reason for this, aside from the aforementioned case, is that the Court has acknowledged that six of the individuals subjected to forced labour and torture on Terbit’s plantation unfortunately died while in captivity (Devdiscourse, 2024). Despite the Supreme Court’s reversal of this sentence, highlighting that a significant step has been made towards accountability and victim justice, the unveiling of this case illustrates the underlying issues of forced labour and human rights abuses within Indonesia’s palm oil industry.
Human rights and business practice implications
Further investigations have revealed that multinational corporations, such as Unilever and Nestlé, have incorporated products into their supply chains which had raw materials sourced from Terbit’s plantation (The Gecko Project, 2022). Unfortunately such cases are not rare, Amnesty International has reported on multiple instances of multinational corporations’ inaction within ensuring the sustainability of their products to be free from palm oil which is produced by the use of forced labour and exploitative labour conditions (Amnesty International, 2016). Companies are turning a blind eye for human rights violations taking place, to ensure bigger profits (Amnesty International, 2016). Such reveals serve as an example of the crucial need for multinational corporations to implement due diligence practices ensuring sustainable practices which are compliant with human rights standards.
Additionally, the Terbit Rencana case illustrates the systemic challenges Indonesia’s legal system is facing, primarily when it pertains to the prosecution of influential individuals, and the necessity for legal reforms to be implemented in order to strengthen its measures. An example illustrating this would be how, following the reports which have indicated that many individuals, including military and police officials, implicated in the Terbit property’s forced labour scheme have not been charged due to a lack of cooperation from local police investigators (Mongabay, 2023).
Conclusion
The high prevalence of cheap labour, human rights abuses and exploitative labour conditions within Indonesia’s biggest export commodity, the palm oil industry, has raised international attention on the status of the labourers. The aforementioned Supreme Court conviction of Terbit Rencana indicates a pivotal moment in the country’s developmental efforts to uphold human rights and combat forced labour practices within the palm oil industry in Indonesia. In order to prevent future instances of human rights abuses, comprehensive legal reforms should take place to ensure accountability at all levels of government whilst ensuring strict regulations on industries prone to labour exploitation practices. Additionally, the important responsibility is highlighted through the case, where multinational corporations should ensure their supply chain operations do not contribute to human rights violations.
Bibliography
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