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nvironmental activists have criticized publicly listed plantation firm PT London Sumatra Indonesia (Lonsum) for its decision to withdraw its membership from the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO).

Indonesian workers rights watchdog the Organization for Struggle and Empowerment of the People (OPPUK) executive director Herwin Nasution said the company’s decision to withdraw its membership from the certification board indicated that it refused to settle an ongoing issue regarding alleged violations of labor rights within the company.

“Indofood [Lonsum’s majority shareholder] has shown its true colors: A company that justifies labor exploitation,” Herwin said over the weekend.

He also demanded that the RSPO improve its certification standards and membership rules.

Previously, the United States-based environmental group the Rainforest Action Network (RAN), OPPUK and the International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF) documented a series of alleged labor rights abuses on Indofood-owned plantations.

The alleged violations included child labor and unpaid workers, as well as an unsafe working environment, which can be seen in a 2016 exposé titled The Human Cost of Conflict Palm Oil.

The groups reported the company to the RSPO, which investigated the company.

An independent verification visit, which took place from June 4 to 7 last year, confirmed that almost all the allegations against the company were true.

The complaints panel’s decision letter to Lonsum stated that the company had pushed mill workers to work overtime during the peak crop season. The RSPO also found out that women workers were denied their reproductive rights, which included being unable to access their right to menstrual leave.

Moreover, the institution also found out that gender-based discrimination occurred in the workplace where female employees’ wages were lower than those of their male counterparts. However, the audit team also pointed out that there was no evidence of child labor.

On Nov. 2, the RSPO’s complaints panel instructed the certification body to suspend the certificate of Begerpang Palm Oil Mill, one of Lonsum’s palm oil plants, and its supply bases until the company fulfills its directive.

However, on Jan. 17, Lonsum issued a letter to announce its withdrawal from the RSPO certification scheme.

Through a written statement received by The Jakarta Post on Saturday, Lonsum Group head of sustainability Muhammad Waras stated that the company had decided to withdraw its membership due to its disappointment over the complaints panel’s decision.

“We are not in agreement with some of the findings and the non-conformances from the audit carried out from June 4 to 7,” Waras said.

He also stated that the company had decided to focus its business on sustainability and practices as stipulated in the mandatory Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) standards.

Introduced in 2011, the ISPO is a national mandatory certification. It has been criticized for making little progress in
improving sustainable practices in the palm oil sector in the country.

Responding to Lonsum’s withdrawal, RSPO executive director Datuk Darrel Webber said the institution had requested clarification from the company on Jan. 18 and 22.

“We already asked for their official statements through an email on Jan. 18. We also invited them to a meeting at our office in Jakarta on Jan. 22. So far we had no luck,” Datuk said as quoted by Indonesian palm oil magazine Infosawit.

Lonsum could not be reached for further comment.