PADU PERKASA: Towards Fair Daily Work Agreements

The palm oil industry in Indonesia involves no less than 16 million members of the community. Not all are accommodated as company staff. As a consequence of existing needs, many become daily wage workers. To ensure that daily workers receive justice and align with the concept of sustainable palm oil, a guidebook was initiated by the Indonesian Palm Oil Association (GAPKI). The guidebook, titled "General Guide to Sustainable Daily Work Agreements in Palm Oil," or simply PADU PERKASA, was launched on March 19, 2025, in Jakarta. This book follows two previous publications discussing the protection of female workers in palm oil plantations and children in palm oil plantations. The PADU PERKASA book aims to provide practical guidance for palm oil plantation companies in managing daily work agreements responsibly and effectively. It appears that this book is a concrete response from GAPKI to the varied practices implemented by its members in executing daily work agreements. Through this guide, it is hoped that members can have a unified perspective and vision in making daily workers an important part of the sustainable palm oil industry. Daily workers play a crucial role in the palm oil industry but sometimes face various challenges such as legal certainty, fair wages, and social protection. Until now, there have been criticisms of work agreement practices that are considered to provide less than maximum justice to workers. There are four main targets in the preparation of this guide. First, compliance with legal provisions to ensure that the use of daily work agreements in the palm oil industry is carried out effectively. Second, the principles of equality and fairness to ensure that daily work agreements in the palm oil industry are implemented based on human rights, equality, and fairness. Third, to minimize business and legal risks that palm oil companies may face. And importantly, fourth, this guide is expected to encourage and assist companies in meeting ISPO/RSPO certification requirements. "With the PADU PERKASA book, it is hoped that the use of daily workers can be more in line with applicable regulations, thereby improving worker welfare and overall industry productivity," said GAPKI Deputy Chairman II Susanto during the book launch event (Wispo, 03/19/25). The release of this guidebook deserves appreciation given the good intentions to continuously improve and, in the long term, is very much needed for a sustainable palm oil industry. As is also known, the concept of "sustainability" in this industry continues to be in the spotlight due to increasingly tight competition in vegetable oils. Implementing fair daily work agreements can at least close some gaps in external criticism of the palm oil business, where Indonesia is the largest producer in the world. Guided by PADU PERKASA, the impression that the profits of the palm oil industry are only enjoyed by entrepreneurs can be minimized, and instead, they are well distributed to employees, including those who only sign daily work agreements. This book, created by GAPKI in collaboration with the Earthworm Foundation and JAPBUSI, should not only be launched publicly but also continuously socialized to entrepreneurs and other parties involved in palm oil work agreements.