Our workforce of almost 38,000 employees forms the backbone of our business. Every Musim Mas employee is empowered to succeed in a safe, progressive working environment that offers equal or better standards compared to the wider palm oil industry. Every employee is treated with dignity and respect, adequately and fairly compensated for overtime, has access to a fair and accountable grievance system, and is remediated for any unlawful or unethical treatment.
We monitor market developments to make sure that pay and working conditions at Musim Mas comply with legal or industry minimum standards in the countries where we operate to ensure they are sufficient to provide a decent living wage. Maintaining transparent and reliable records of all working hours and wages is also mandatory. All workers receive copies of their contracts and it is our policy that all workers retain control over their identity documents.
We invest heavily in infrastructural developments, including roads, housing, water supplies, medical facilities, schools and other amenities. Employees across all estates have the opportunity to share ideas and voice feedback on our operations during our annual Musim Mas Improvement Day.
Musim Mas strongly opposes the use of forced or trafficked labor, and we do not employ child labor in our operations. Our recruitment policy prohibits the employment of any individual under the age of 18. All job applicants are verified against minimum age requirements.
We have integrated age-verification measures into our recruitment procedure, including interviews for all applicants to prevent any underaged, forced or trafficked labor entering our workforce. These updated policies and procedures have been socialized regularly among our employees and through workers’ unions.
Among smallholders, it is not uncommon to bring family members under the age of 18 to “help” their parents or senior family members in the field. It is a cultural issue that we continue to work to address. We conduct regular socialization programs that cover the importance of education for child development, as well as children’s rights in the plantation context. Musim Mas provides schools and childcare centers in and around our plantations so that parents can go to work without having to worry about their children’s safety and education.
Musim Mas does not tolerate sexual harassment in the workplace and maintains a policy of non-discrimination. Procedures are put in place to deal with workplace harassment and assault in a manner that guarantees the anonymity of the complainant, to avoid conflict between the engaged parties. Additionally, we have implemented an investigation and escalation procedure to ensure that related parties cannot intervene in the resolution of sexual assault or sexual harassment cases. This procedure is socialized periodically among workers and posted in workers’ housing areas.
The Musim Mas Gender Committee, an elected body comprising men and women, reviews policies pertaining to human rights and equality issues, focusing on vulnerable groups such as women and children. The Committee also establishes appropriate measures to address concerns such as menstruation leave, breastfeeding, sexual assault and domestic abuse. Under the guidance of management, the Committee facilitates the resolution of domestic abuse cases, promotes discussion of gender-related issues, disseminates knowledge, and undertakes socialization of our human rights and equality policies among our workforce and communities.
As part of its work program, the Gender Committee routinely visits workers’ houses and schools to collect information about any sexual harassment or assault cases. An external provider has been engaged to train committee members in the appropriate handling of cases involving sexual harassment and sexual assault.
We started standardizing our disciplinary and termination systems, including the application of sanctions and warnings, to ensure they incorporate proper appeal procedures and clearly defined roles. We are also developing an integrated investigation process to guarantee the objectivity of any disciplinary decision resulting in sanctions.
Musim Mas has policies in place to ensure that workers are employed and promoted based on their competency, capability and experience regardless of race, nationality, religion, age or union affiliation. We treat all employees equally and reward them fairly based on merit. Out of almost 22,000 staff and workers employed across our plantations and mills, women account for 25% and 28% of our total staff and workers respectively.
We provide housing facilities to the heads of families as identified in their registered Family Cards 1 . Historically, mill and estate workers were predominantly men due to the manual nature of oil palm cultivation and processing, and standard practice has always been to provide the housing facility under the husband’s name. However, as more women have joined our workforce in recent years, we have changed our policy so it can be implemented regardless of gender. We now provide housing facilities to women who are registered as the head of family.
Family cards are official documents required by the government office to prove residency and family relationships.
Minimum wages in Indonesia are set by provincial authorities. We pay fair wages to all Musim Mas employees, and our salaries are adjusted in line with inflation and minimum wage requirements. We keep records of all remuneration and claims paid to employees. They are equipped with the necessary knowledge through trainings and socialization in health and safety, certification, policy and collective bargaining. We also provide work-talent training by investing in capacity building and technical skills development programs.
Musim Mas provides workers with free facilities such as housing (including electricity and water), education and transport. Based on a survey of living standards and market prices conducted in conjunction with the workers union, the combination of our wages and the facilities provided has a much higher value – approximately 70% – than the minimum living wages set by local governments. We ensure that parental leave and retirement provisions are adequately provided according to national law, and workers are insured for work-related risks and hazards including disability and invalidity due to occupational hazards.
All time and payroll records accurately, reliably and transparently reflect all hours and days worked. We also educate our workers on the hazard of overtime practices. We cap overtime at 14 hours a week and three hours a day, with meals. All overtime is paid according to regulations.
We are in constant dialogue with union representatives and government bodies over working hours in the palm oil industry and are working towards creating a better policy catered to the type and variety of work available on our plantations.
Access to clean water can be limited in some parts of Indonesia. Many people face water shortages due to unequal distribution and inefficient usage. We have introduced a water rationing system to ensure a constant supply of free, clean water to all worker households. We also consistently socialize our workers and residents in surrounding housing areas to promote the efficient use of water and reduce wastage.
We respect the rights of all contract, temporary and migrant workers, regardless of gender. Our temporary or contract workers have stayed constant at around 5% of all workers over the past few years.
Some workers may prefer temporary work to full-time employment due to childcare or other domestic responsibilities. To allow a certain degree of flexibility, and prevent any misuse of the dispensation to use helpers during peak periods (for instance, where spouses would unofficially accompany their husbands into the field to work), we have initiated a process to formalize the employment status of temporary workers by providing short-term employment contracts and insurance. These workers are then eligible to be recruited as permanent workers. This mechanism ensures that all workers’ efforts are formally recognized, and women are empowered through a direct source of income.
We respect the rights of all workers regardless of employment status to join workers unions. About 80% of our workers belong to several workers unions. Our collective labor agreement is in line with government regulations and has been registered with the local Manpower office. This agreement is valid for all employees, whether unionized or not. Members are free to meet during working hours to discuss any issues without the presence of management representatives.
The Group’s management and the workers’ union maintain a positive relationship and meet regularly to discuss matters of concern to members, such as overtime and compensation, working hour policies based on type and variety of work available, work-life balance and menstruation leave.
All workers have access to a transparent and accountable grievance mechanism without fear of reprisal or dismissal.
Our internal, site-level grievance procedure has been socialized to our workers and we regularly post reminders about the system on public boards. Employees can raise complaints through suggestion boxes located around our operations, through grievance logbooks at administrative offices, over the phone to Public Affairs Department (Hubungan Masyarakat), or through the worker union. Complaints filed with supervisors are escalated to mill managers and all grievances are either processed within a week or are raised in regular management meetings for discussion and resolution.
For more information on our grievance mechanism, refer to here.
We provide a safe and healthy workplace for all our employees. Our occupational safety and health (OSH) policy complies with national laws and regulations, as well as ILO guidelines. Group-level senior management oversees and reviews the performance of the OSH management system, including performance goals and continuous improvement programs.
A committee responsible for Safety, Health and Environmental Quality is set up at each operation to enforce the protocols and standards for safety. They are responsible for identifying potential hazards and ensuring the availability and optimal condition of safety equipment. They meet quarterly to discuss safety issues and concerns, and meeting outcomes are reported to the Indonesian Ministry of Manpower. The committee is chaired by the highest-ranking person responsible for the safety of company personnel.
Safety is everybody’s responsibility. We conduct regular training and safety drills, including basic safety training, first aid and emergency response procedures, fire-fighting drills and socialization of material data safety sheet for chemicals. We also inculcate the habit of donning adequate personal protective equipment (PPE), such as gloves, helmets, boots, masks and safety clothing. We have built safety criteria into our employees’ personal performance evaluations.
There are many clinics and first aid kits strategically located across our plantations to ensure immediate medical attention. Workers who handle herbicides and pesticides are provided with monthly medical check-ups. We maintain records on illnesses, which are summarized in monthly reports, and dominant health issues are analyzed so that action plans can be prepared to limit their occurrence or prevent their spreading. Information on health issues is socialized among all workers as a preventive measure.
As a result, the total number of accidents reported in our operations has been decreasing year on year (refer to our Sustainability Report for details). We are constantly working on reducing accident severity, as well as ensuring that all workers are adequately prepared and equipped for higher-risk activities.
Musim Mas takes employee fatalities extremely seriously. We investigate every fatal incident and take appropriate measures to eliminate such accidents from our workplaces. Procedures and risk assessments are reviewed and revised where necessary, to minimize these occupational risks and hazards. We also reinforce supervision and safety management with intensive trainings to promote greater awareness amongst employees throughout our operations.
