T

he government is under pressure to launch a thorough investigation into Wilmar, a giant palm oil company, following reports of allegedly abusive labor practices on the firm’s plantations in North Sumatra.

UK-based Amnesty International has issued another report related to the agriculture giant, accusing the company of intimidating its staff to deny a previous Amnesty report on alleged labor abuses within the company.

The organization claimed the Singapore-based company intimidated its staff in an attempt to cover up allegations outlined in Amnesty’s 2016 report that detailed the company’s allegedly brutal labor practices including child labor, forced labor, exposure to dangerous conditions and discrimination against women.

“Workers on plantations live in fear of reprisals for speaking out about their poor working conditions. Such reprisals could include being moved away from their families to a different plantation or even losing their jobs entirely,” Seema Joshi, head of Amnesty International’s Business and Human Rights team, said in a statement made available to The Jakarta Post on Monday.

In January, Amnesty claims, Wilmar asked workers in a meeting with trade union representatives to sign a document stating that the abuses outlined in the report were not taking place on their plantations. This move, which Amnesty called “deeply worrying”, followed local media reports saying that the Indonesian government would carry out a thorough investigation into the company.

“But in the three months since the [initial] report’s release, we have seen no action [from Indonesian authorities],” said Seema.

As of Monday, the Post has not been able to verify the claims independently.

Separately, Wilmar brushed off the allegations. It also denied it had forced its workers to sign a letter denying the allegations of labor abuses.

“In an email response [to Amnesty] on 16 January 2017, we clarified that this was not the case and a copy of the meeting minutes with the union representatives was provided to Amnesty International,” Iris Chan, Wilmar communications manager, said to the Post on Monday in an email.

Furthermore, Iris said the company had collaborated with Verite Southeast Asia, an NGO focusing on labor rights, to review Wilmar’s labor practices in North Sumatra and Central Kalimantan.

“Our partnership with Verite will help us formulate sustainable solutions to labor problems that exist in the Indonesian palm oil sector.”

Meanwhile, Maruli Apul Hasoloan, the acting director general of manpower supervision at the Manpower Ministry, did not respond to the Post’s text messages or multiple phone calls on Monday.

Amnesty’s report, entitled “The Great Palm Oil Scandal: Labor Abuses behind Big Brand Names”, accuses Wilmar’s subsidiaries and suppliers of employing children under the age of 15 years despite laws prohibiting anyone from employing children below the age of 18.

The type of work the children are allegedly involved in is also dangerous. Amnesty said the children carried heavy loads of palm fruit over uneven terrain and narrow bridges. They also allegedly work in environments exposed to chemicals.

Furthermore, there are also issues of underpayment and gender discrimination where Wilmar’s subsidiary companies and suppliers allegedly hire women as casual daily laborers and deny them permanent employment status and social security benefits such as health insurance and pensions.

In a statement responding to the report, Wilmar claims it has put a lot of effort into dealing with labour and social issues in its operations and supply chain. “We acknowledge that there are ongoing labour issues in the palm oil industry,” it says, adding that it has also undertaken internal investigations into the matter.

Wilmar is the world’s largest palm oil processor. It is said to control 43 percent of the world’s palm oil trade.